BRENT 

Letters  on  the 
National  Institute 


Q 

11 

S64B7 


LETTERS 


ON  THE 


NATIONAL  INSTITUTE,  SMITHSONIAN  LEGACY, 


THE  FINE  ARTS, 


AND  OTHER  MATTERS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  INTERESTS  OF  THE 
DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


BY  JOHN  CARROLL  BRENT. 


WASHINGTON. 

J.    &   G  .    S  .    GIDEON. 

1844. 


ENTERED,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
this  let  June,  1844,  by  JOHN  CAKHOLL  BHEXT. 


OF  CALIFORNIA 
JUHBAJBA 


DEDICATION. 

This  republication  of  the  Letters  recently  inserted  in  the  columns 
of  the  National  Intelligencer,  is  dedicated  to  the  Members  of  the 
National  Institute,  as  a  tribute  of  respect,  by  their  fellow  member 
and  obedient  servant, 

THE  AUTHOR. 

WASHINGTON,  June  1,  1844. 


LETT  E  R S  . 


SUBJECTS  OF  LETTERS  STATED. 
LETTER  No.  I. 

WASHINGTON,  December  6,  1843. 

GENTLEMEN  :  It  has  appeared  to  me  that  the  publication  in  your 
widely  circulated  journal  of  a  series  of  articles  on  the  National  Institute, 
Smithsonian  Legacy,  and  other  matters  connected  with  the  interests  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  might  be  a  desideratum  at  present,  and  cal- 
culated to  do  good  here  and  elsewhere. 

Fortunately  for  my  project,  which  I  have  had  in  contemplation  for 
some  time  past,  and  the  execution  of  which  I  postponed  until  the 
meeting  of  Congress,  the  present  President  of  the  United  States,  in  his 
last  Message,  has  called  the  serious  and  favorable  attention  of  Congress 
to  the  interests  of  this  District.  This  appeal  in  our  behalf  has  elicited 
from  you  the  following  well-deserved  and  appropriate  remarks : 

"We  cannot  dismiss  the  Message  to-day,  however,  without  expressing  our  gratification 
at  the  liberal  terms  in  which  the  President  has  introduced  into  it  the  affairs  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  for  which  he  is  entitled  to  the  sincere  thanks  of  his  fellow-citizens  whose  lot 
is  cast  within  its  limits.  Let  us  hope  that,  in  the  exhibition  of  thoughtfulness  and  liberality 
towards  this  disfranchised  District,  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  will  not  suffer  themselves 
to  be  outdone  by  the  Chief  Magistrate." 

The  portion  of  the  Message  which  called  forth  these  remarks  is  as 
follows : 

"  I  cannot  close  this  communication,  gentlemen,  without  recommending  to  your  most 
favorable  consideration  the  interests  of  this  District.  Appointed  by  the  Constitution  its 
exclusive  legislators,  and  forming,  in  this  particular,  the  only  anomaly  in  our  system  of 
Government  of  the  legislative  body  being  elected  by  others  than  those  for  whose  advantage 
they  are  to  legislate,  you  will  feel  a  superadded  obligation  to  look  well  into  their  condition, 
and  to  leave  no  cause  for  complaint  or  regret." 

That  this  warm  and  generous  appeal  may  go  to  the  heart  of  every 
member  of  the  National  Councils,  to  be  followed  by  the  desired  results, 
should  be  the  aspiration  of  ever)'  citizen  of  the  District  and  true  lover 
of  his  country. 

Believing,  then,  that  the  present  is  the  proper  time  for  inviting  and 
urging  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  public  in  general  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  with  such  valuable  recommendations  as  the  foregoing,  I  deem 
it  my  duty,  though  an  humble  citizen  of  the  District,  to  do  my  best  in 
the  good  cause. 


I  propose,  therefore,  with  your  approbation,  to  devote  a  brief  space 
to  the  History  of  the  National  Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  Science, 
with  such  reflections  as  may  be  suggested  by  the  treatment  of  the  sub- 
ject ;  to  enter  into  some  detail  in  relation  to  the  National  Observatory, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Lieutenant  Gillis,  of  our  Navy,  and  that 
of  Georgetown  College,  assigned  to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Curley, 
both  in  course  of  construction ;  to  urge  the  necessity,  justice,  and  policy 
of  some  final  and  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  in  the  matter 
of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  recommended  especially  by  the  President 
to  that  body,  and  the  propriety  and  expediency  of  entrusting,  under 
proper  control,  the  execution  of  that  sacred  legacy  to  the  National  In- 
stil ute  ;  to  show  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  District,  if  alive  to  their 
own  interests  and  desirous  of  doing  good  to  the  community  at  large, 
should  support  and  foster,  by  pecuniary  and  other  aid,  the  said  associa- 
tion, and  throw  their  weight  into  any  effort  which  may  be  made  to 
obtain  for  it  the  life-giving  notice  of  Congress. 

Having  treated  these  matters  as  fully  as  I  may  deem  it  necessary 
and  appropriate,  I  shall  then  proceed  to  the  discussion  of  other  inci- 
dental subjects  interesting  to  the  District  and  the  country. 

In  the  performance  of  this  duty  it  shall  be  my  study  to  refrain  from 
any  remarks  calculated  to  give  reasonable  offence  in  any  quarter,  and  I 
shall  carefully  abstain  from  any  allusion  to  the  local  or  general  politics 
now  agitating  the  people. 

I  trust  to  be  able  to  prove  that  a  liberal  policy  towards  this  District, 
on  the  part  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Republic,  will  result  in  a  per- 
manent and  real  advantage  to  the  whole  nation  ;  and  that  the  outlay 
of  money  and  fostering  care  asked  for  by  our  public  spirited  Chief 
Magistrate  will  redound  to  its  honor  as  well  as  profit. 

It  is,  therefore,  from  the  impression  that  it  is  important  for  the  people 
at  large  to  have  their  notice  attracted  to  the  subject,  and  from  the  kind- 
ness and  liberality  with  which  you  have  opened  your  columns  to  scien- 
tific, literary,  and  general  topics,  that  I  have  applied  to  you  to  aid  me 
in  the  performance  of  my  task.  But,  as  your  journal  will  be  crowded 
with  matter  during  the  session,  I  shall  take  care  to  make  my  articles 
brief  and  to  the  point. 

With  this  hasty  sketch  of  my  plan,  I  shall  conclude  for  the  present 
by  observing  that  my  next  article  will  be  devoted  to  a  condensed  notice 
of  the  National  Institute ;  the  examination  of  the  expediency  of  its 
being  entrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  and 


references  to  the  excellent  views  of  Messrs.  Duponceau,  Rush,  Poin- 
sett,  and  Preston  on  that  particular  point ;  and  to  the  able  and  impor- 
tant correspondence  of  such  men  as  Messrs.  Adams,  Wheaton,  Cushing, 
Hodgson,  &c.,  on  scientific,  historical,  and  general  subjects. 
I  remain,  respectfully,  yours, 

J.  C.  B. 

NATIONAL  INSTITUTE. 
LETTEH  No.  II. 

WASHINGTON,  December  16,  1843. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  my  last  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  after  having  given 
a  programme  of  the  course  I  have  determined  to  adopt  in  the  treatment 
of  the  important  subjects  therein  mentioned,  I  proposed  to  devote  the 
succeeding  number  to  a  brief  sketch  of  the  National  Institute,  and  the 
propriety,  wisdom,  and  expediency  of  making  that  institution  the  agent 
for  the  execution  of  the  objects  contemplated  in  the  bequest  of  Mr. 
Smithson.  I  now,  therefore,  in  succinct  terms,  proceed  to  comply  with 
my  promise. 

The  National  Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  Science  has  now  been 
in  existence  upwards  of  three  years,  having  been  founded  in  this  city  in 
the  month  of  May,  1840,  and  incorporated  by  Congress  in  July,  1842. 
In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  its  progress  and  extension,  I  will  content 
myself  for  the  present  with  stating  that  it  now  embraces  upwards  of 
one  thousand  members,  distributed  as  follows :  287  resident,  20  honor- 
ary, 32  paying  corresponding,  and  754  corresponding  members.  The 
Institute  has  upon  its  lists  17  corresponding  American  and  141  Foreign 
Societies ;  and  all  Governors  of  States,  and  diplomatic,  consular,  and 
commercial  agents,  who  are  not  otherwise  connected  with  the  Institute, 
are  considered  as  corresponding  members  ex  officio. 

The  constitution  of  the  Institute  has  divided  the  departments  into 
eight :  first,  Chemistry ;  second,  Geology  and  Mineralogy ;  third,  Ge- 
ography, Astronomy,  and  Natural  Philosophy;  fourth,  Natural  His- 
tory; fifth,  the  Application  of  Science  to  the  Useful  Arts;  sixth, 
American  History  and  Antiquities ;  seventh,  Agriculture ;  eighth,  Lit- 
erature and  the  Fine  Arts. 

The  Institute,  ever  since  its  foundation,  whilst  gradually  adding  to 
the  number  of  its  members  at  home  and  abroad,  has,  in  proportion, 
widened  the  circle  of  its  operations  and  made  friends  in  every  section 


8 

of  the  world.  In  America,  North  and  South,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa, 
it  can  point  to  distinguished  names  and  ardent  co-operators  in  the  dif- 
fusion of  human  knowledge.  Its  library  is  swelling  rapidly  into  im- 
portance; its  cabinet  is  increasing  daily  in  interest,  and  growing  so 
rapidly  as  to  preclude  all  possibility  as  yet  of  assorting  and  uniting  the 
articles  in  one  place ;  its  bulletins,  of  which  two  have  been  published, 
give  promise  of  great  usefulness  and  increasing  value ;  the  correspon- 
dence embraced  in  those  bulletins,  and  that  which  has  found  its  way 
to  the  reading  public  for  a  long  time  through  your  columns,  is  becom- 
ing daily  more  extensive,  interesting,  and  important.  In  a  word,  with 
but  a  limited  means,  and  a  small  share,  as  yet,  of  that  public  confidence 
and  support  which  it  is  so  well  calculated  to  secure,  the  Institute  has 
succeeded  in  gaining  an  available  reputation  in  this  country,  and  in 
spreading  its  name  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  habitable  globe. 

I  find  the  words  used  by  that  distinguished  scholar  and  statesman, 
the  Hon.  ABEL  P.  UPSHUR,  our  present  able  Secretary  of  State,  in  his 
circular,  whilst  head  of  the  Navy  Department,  under  date  of  June  28, 
1842,  so  well  suited  to  the  subject  that  I  feel  called  upon  to  insert  them. 
Speaking  of  the  National  Institute,  and  recommending  to  our  naval 
officers  an  active  co-operation  with  its  laudable  objects,  he  says :  "  The 

*  design  of  the  institution  is  to  extend  and  diffuse  all  useful  knowledge 
'  among  men.    In  its  character,  it  is  national ;  in  its  objects,  it  embraces 
'  the  whole  circle  of  science  and  of  the  arts ;  and  in  its  purpose,  it  looks 
{  to  the  civilization  and  improvement,  and  consequently  to  the  happi- 
'  ness,  of  man  wherever  found.     A  design  at  once  so  comprehensive 

*  and  liberal  entitles  it  to  the  respect  of  the  civilized  world,  and  claims 
'  for  it  in  a  particular  manner  the  fostering  care  and  assistance  of  our 
1  own  people." 

If  it  be  then,  as  it  is  in  fact,  in  character,  national  in  its  objects  ;  em- 
bracing the  whole  circle  of  science  and  of  the  arts  in  its  scope ;  in  a 
word,  so  vast  and  extensive,  why  should  not  the  Institute,  in  a  particu- 
lar degree,  be  endeared  to  every  lover  of  his  kind,  every  true  citizen  of 
the  Republic?  Free  from  the  charge  of  political  bias  and  control,  its 
members  belonging  to  all  the  parties  dividing  the  country — possessing 
the  advantage  of  having  in  its  ranks  many  if  not  most  of  the  leading 
statesmen,  scholars,  and  artists  of  the  land — connected  closely  through 
its  non-resident  members  with  many  of  the  first  scientific  and  literary 
institutions  in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  in  correspondence  with  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  and  influential  men  in  Europe  and  Asia,  no 


association  of  public  spirited  gentlemen,  for  such  good  end,  offers  bet- 
ter inducements  and  fitter  subject  for  popular  favor  and  support.  Ex- 
amine every  circular,  bulletin,  or  other  official  publication  of  the  Society; 
attend  its  regular  and  extraordinary  meetings ;  investigate  all  its  plans, 
proposals,  and  operations,  and  I  venture  to  assert  that  a  spirit  of  true 
patriotism  and  a  strong  desire  of  extending  the  limits  and  blessings  of 
human  knowledge  and  improvement,  will  be  found  to  prevail  amongst 
its  members  individually  and  collectively.  As  in  the  course  of  human 
events  and  the  constant  changes  daily  occurring  in  the  views  and  for- 
tunes of  its  members,  a  concurrent  alteration  is  ever  going  on  in  those 
who  are  annually  elected  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  the  National 
Institute,  no  reasonable  fear  should  ever  possess  the  public  mind  that 
any  permanent  or  serious  abuse  of  power  or  trust  could  happen  in  the 
administration  of  its  concerns.  The  officers  of  one  year  are  often  not 
those  of  the  succeeding.  An  unceasing  supervision  is  exercised  over 
the  acts  of  the  Society  by  those  members  who  are  on  the  spot;  and  it 
is  not  at  all  probable  that  among  so  many  highly  respectable  and  disin- 
terested individuals,  not  one  of  whom  have  any  thing  to  gain  or  hope 
for,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  by  any  impulse  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  Institute,  any  set  of  men  should  be  found  to  dream  of  putting  their 
privileges  or  power  to  bad  use.  The  hope  and  the  wish  of  each  mem- 
ber is,  or  ought  to  be,  if  he  be  worthy  of  the  honor,  to  aid  as  far  as  in 
him  lies  in  winning  for  his  country  a  reputation  for  liberality  in  the  pat- 
ronage of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  for  a  laudable  ambition  and  success 
in  the  march  of  mind.  He  believes,  or  ought  to  believe,  that  every  step 
taken  in  the  onward  path  of  civilization  and  refinement,  is  so  much 
added  to  the  strength  and  salutary  operation  of  republican  institutions. 
He  desires  to  aid  in  erecting  a  neutral  platform  on  which  the  citizens  of 
of  ther  epublic  may  meet  as  friends  and  rivals  in  the  intellectual  struggle 
only,  having  cast  from  them  as  a  load  those  political  animosities  which 
keep  them  so  much  estranged  in  the  public  arena.  In  a  word,  every 
member  longs  to  make  of  his  Institute  a  republic  of  letters,  where  the 
genial  influence  of  an  enlarged  and  liberal  spirit  shall  reign  supreme,  and 
prove  the  assertion  false  of  those  who  say  that  the  muses,  the  sciences, 
and  the  arts  cannot  flourish  under  the  sway  of  popular  institutions. 

It  will  be  indeed  a  sad  mistake,  and  cause  for  future  regret  and  re- 
morse, if  we  suffer  such  a  noble  institution  as  that  which  exists  in  our 
midst  to  pine  away  for  want,  of  notice  and  support.     Now  is  the  fit 
time  for  a  well  informed  and  intelligent  community  to  come  to  the 
2 


10 

rescue,  and  to  redeem  their  character  from  the  charge  of  indifference 
and  neglect.  A  prompt  and  simultaneous  combination  in  its  behalf  on 
the  part  of  the  citizens  of  the  District  in  particular,  and  a  responsive 
liberality  in  Congress  to  our  appeal,  would  rescue  the  Institute  from  the 
embarrassed  condition  it  is  in  at  present,  and  enable  it  to  enlarge  the 
circle  of  its  usefulness.  That  condition  of  pecuniaiy  difficulty  has  been 
mainly  produced  by  the  desire  of  its  members  to  make  it  better  known 
and  more  generally  felt.  The  scattered  residences  of  those  whose  names 
are  on  its  list,  and  the  consequent  difficulty,  if  not  impossibility,  of  ob- 
taining the  amount  of  their  subscriptions,  have  made  it  a  hard  matter 
for  the  Treasurer  to  meet  the  numerous  and  heavy  demands  upon  him 
for  the  current  expenses  of  the  Institute.  Must  it  then  be  said  that  an 
association,  honored  with  the  names,  influence,  and  approbation  of  some 
of  the  best  men  in  the  country,  the  objects  of  which  are  so  national  and 
important — the  constitution  so  liberal  and  appropriate — the  operations 
so  extensive  and  improving,  shall  not  meet  with  the  affectionate  pat- 
ronage of  the  people,  for  whose  benefit  it  was  established  ?  Will  the 
citizens  of  this  District  be  so  dead  to  their  own  interests  and  to  the 
promptings  of  an  honorable  spirit,  as  to  stand  with  their  arms  folded 
when  so  much  is  to  be  done,  and  so  good  an  agent  is  presented?  Will 
Congress,  the  honored  servant  of  the  people,  refuse  the  small  pittance 
we  ask  at  its  hands,  and  reject  a  course  of  action  which  must  redound  to 
the  credit  and  advantage  of  the  whole  country  ?  We  most  sincerely  pray 
and  trust  that  none  of  these  things  will  come  to  pass ;  but  that,  support- 
ed by  the  influence  of  the  people  among  whom  it  is  established — 
cheered  on  by  the  approbation  and  good  will  of  the  country  at  large, 
and  favorably  received  by  the  National  Legislature,  our  young  but 
public  spirited  Institute  may  realize  the  hopes  of  its  most  sanguine 
friends,  and  become  what  it  was  intended  it  should  be,  a  national  bless- 
ing, and  an  honor  to  the  Republic  at  home  and  abroad. 

In  my  next  I  shall  dwell  upon  the  proposed  alliance  of  the  Institute 
and  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  and  until  then  I  am,  gentleman,  respect- 
fully yours,  J.  c.  B. 

ON  THE  NATIONAL  INSTITUTE. 
LETTER  No.  III. 

WASHINGTON,  Dec.  23,  1843. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  my  article,  published  in  your  paper  last  Monday, 
I  gave  a  brief  notice  and  eulogium  of  the  National  Institute.  I  shall 


have  occasion  soon  to  return  to  that  subject,  in  order  to  show  that 
many  great  and  prominent  men  in  this  country  entertain  a  high  opinion 
of  its  merits. 

I  propose  devoting  the  present  number  to  the  notice  of  recommenda- 
tions of  several  of  our  departed  Presidents  to  Congress,  on  the  subject 
of  a  National  University,  from  General  WASHINGTON  inclusively  ;  and 
take  the  occasion  of  thanking  a  valued  friend,  the  author  of  an  able 
article  in  answer  to  a  speech  on  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  made  (he 
24th  February,  1839,  by  Mr.  CALHOUN,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  valuable  facts  and  arguments  which  assist  me  so  much 
in  my  present  purpose.  The  article,  signed  "  Common  Sense,"  ap- 
peared in  your  paper  of  May  16th,  1839,  and  I  would  advise  such  of 
your  readers  as  may  feel  disposed  to  examine  the  subject,  to  consult  that 
essay  as  one  full  of  interest  and  correct  information. 

In  calling  to  my  assistance  such  venerable  and  powerful  names  as 
WASHINGTON,  JEFFERSON,  and  MADISON,  I  shall  make  but  little 
comment  upon  their  writings,  being  convinced  that  what  they  have  said 
on  the  subject  of  a  National  University  must  necessarily  carry  far 
greater  force  and  persuasion  to  the  public  mind  than  any  reasoning  of 
mine.  With  these  remarks  I  take  up  our  first  President,  and  find  him 
discoursing  as  follows  in  his  speech  of  8th  January,  1790,  to  Congress  : 
"  Nor  am  I  less  persuaded  that  you  will  agree  with  me  in  opinion  that 
'  there  is  nothing  which  can  better  deserve  your  patronage  than  the  pro- 
'  motion  of  science  and  literature.  Knowledge  is  in  every  country  the 
'  surest  basis  of  public  happiness.  In  one  in  which  the  measures  of  Gov- 
1  ernment  receive  their  impression  so  immediately  from  the  sense  of  the 
*  community  as  in  ours,  it  is  proportionably  essential.  To  the  security 
1  of  a  free  constitution  it  contributes  in  various  ways;  by  convincing 
'  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  public  administration  that  every 
'  valuable  end  of  Government  is  best  answered  by  the  enlightened  con- 
'  fidence'  of  the  People ;  and  by  teaching  the  people  themselves  to 
'  know  and  to  value  their  own  rights ;  to  discern  and  provide  against 
'  invasions  of  them ;  to  distinguish  between  oppression  and  the  neces- 
'  sury  exercise  of  authority ;  between  burdens  arising  from  a  disregard 
1  to  their  convenience,  and  those  resulting  from  the  inevitable  exigencies 
'  of  society ;  to  discriminate  the  spirit  of  liberty  from  that  of  licentious- 
'  ness — cherishing  the  first  and  avoiding  the  last — and  uniting  a  speedy 
'  but  temperate  vigilance  against  encroachments,  with  an  inviolable 
'  respect  for  the  laws. 


"  Whether  this  desirable  object  will  be  best  promoted  by  affording 
4  aids  to  seminaries  of  learning  already  established,  by  the  institution 
1  of  a  National  University,  or  by  other  expedients,  will  be  well  worthy 
4  of  a  place  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Legislature." 

To  this  speech,  so  worthy  of  the  wise  and  good  man  who  deemed 
education  essential  to  the  existence  and  operation  of  republican  institu- 
tions, the  Senate  made  the  following  answer :  "  Literature  and  science 
4  are  essential  to  the  preservation  of  a  free  Constitution  ;  the  measures 
4  of  Government  should  therefore  be  calculated  to  strengthen  the  confi- 
4  dence  that  is  due  to  that  important  truth." 

President  WASHINGTON  again  dwells  upon  his  favorite  subject,  in 
his  speech  to  the  two  Houses  on  the  7th  December,  1796,  and  thus 
eloquently  urges  it  on  their  attention  : 

"  I  have  heretofore  proposed  to  the  consideration  of  Congress  the 
4  expediency  of  establishing  a  National  University,  and  also  a  Military 
4  Academy.  The  desirableness  of  both  these  institutions  has  so  con- 
4  stantly  increased  with  every  new  view  I  have  taken  of  the  subject, 
4  that  I  cannot  omit  the  opportunity  of  once  for  all  recalling  your  atten- 
4  lion  to  them.  The  assembly  to  which  I  address  myself  is  too  en- 
4  lightened  not  to  be  fully  sensible  how  much  a  flourishing  state  of  the 
4  arts  and  sciences  contributes  to  national  prosperity  and  reputation. 
4  True  it  is,  that  our  country,  much  to  its  honor,  contains  many  semi- 
4  naries  of  learning  highly  respectable  and  useful ;  but  the  funds  upon 
4  which  they  rest  are  too  narrow  to  command  the  ablest  professors  in 
4  the  different  departments  of  liberal  knowledge  for  the  Institution  con- 
4  templated,  though  they  would  be  excellent  as  auxiliaries. 

44  Amongst  the  motives  to  such  an  Institution,  the  assimilation  of  the 
1  principles,  opinions,  and  manners  of  our  countrymen,  by  the  common 
4  education  of  a  portion  of  our  youth  from  every  quarter,  well  deserves 
4  attention.  The  more  homogeneous  our  citizens  can  be  made  in 
4  tfiese  particulars,  the  greater  will  be  our  prospect  of  permanent 
4  union  ;  and  a  primary  object  of  such  a  National  Institution  should 
4  be  the  education  of  our  youth  in  the  science  of  Government.  In  a 
4  Republic,  what  species  of  knowledge  can  be  equally  important? 
4  And  what  duty  more  pressing  on  its  Legislature  than  to  patronize 
'  a  plan  for  communicating  it  to  those  ivho  are  to  be  the  future  guar- 
4  dians  of  the  liberties  of  the  country  ?" 

"  Common  Sense"  says  that  a  memorial  signed  by  GUSTAVUS  SCOTT, 
4  WILLIAM  THORNTON,  and  ALEXANDER  WHITE,  Commissioners  of  the 


13 

« 

City  of  Washington,  was  presented  to  Congress,  praying  for  authority 
to  accept  donations  for  the  establishment  of  a  National  University,  and 
stating  that  the  President  had  appropriated  a  square  of  ground  in  the 
new  city,  containing  near  twenty  acres,  for  that  object,  and  had  himself 
offered  a  donation  of  fifty  shares  of  stock,  then  supposed  to  be  valuable, 
and  which  had  cost  him  the  sum  of  five  thousand  pounds  sterling,  to 
aid  in  the  attempt.  Mr.  MADISON,  chairman  of  a  committee  of  three, 
reported  on  the  21st  December,  1796,  as  follows:  "  That  it  is  expe- 
'  dient,  at  present,  the  authority  be  given,  as  prayed  for  by  said  memo- 
'  rial,  to  proper  persons  to  receive  and  hold  in  trust  pecuniary  dona 
'  tions,  in  aid  of  the  appropriations  already  made,  towards  the  establish 
'  ment  of  a  University  in  the  District  of  Columbia." 

If  it  was  expedient  at  so  early  a  period  of  our  Government,  when  the 
people  were  less  divided  by  sectional  feelings  than  now,  to  establish  a 
National  University  at  Washington,  how  much  stronger  the  induce- 
ment and  necessity  at  present,  having  at  hand  a  large  sum  of  money 
bequeathed  for  that  very  purpose,  costing  the  Government  not  one 
cent,  to  the  execution  of  which  trust  its  honor  is  pledged,  and  which 
comes  with  such  patriotic,  wise,  and  irresistible  arguments  as  those  of 
the  "  Pater  Patiia?  !" 

"  Common  Sense"  observes  that  various  causes,  the  state  of  our  rela- 
tions with  France,  and  the  excited  state  of  the  public  mind  on  many 
subjects  of  domestic  policy,  prevented  the  agitation  of  the  subject  during 
the  short  administration  of  JOHN  ADAMS. 

But  we  find  President  JEFFERSON  using  the  following  cogent  and 
impressive  language  in  his  message  of  the  2d  December,  1806.  He 
thus  speaks  to  Congress : 

"  Education  is  here  placed  among  the  articles  of  public  care ;  not 
'  that  it  would  be  proposed  to  take  its  ordinary  branches  out  of  the 
'  hands  of  private  enterprise,  which  manages  so  much  better  all  the 
i  concerns  to  which  it  is  equal ;  but  a  public  institution  can  alone  sup- 
i  ply  those  sciences  which,  though  rarely  called  f or  ^  are  yet  necessary  to 
'  complete  the  circle,  all  the  parts  of  which  contribute  to  the  improve- 
1  ment  of  the  country,  and  some  of  them  to  its  preservation.  The 
'  subject  is  now  proposed  for  the  consideration  of  Congress,  because,  if 
*  approved,  by  the  time  the  State  Legislatures  shall  have  deliberated 
'  on  this  extension  of  the  Federal  trusts,  and  the  laws  shall  be  passed 
'  and  other  arrangements  made  for  their  execution,  the  necessary  funds 
v  will  be  on  hand  arid  without  employment.  I  suppose  an  amend 


14 

(  ment  to  the  Constitution,  by  consent  of  the  States,  necessary,  because 
4  the  objects  uo\v  recommended  are  not  among  those  enumerated  in  the 
'  Constitution,  and  to  which  it  permits  the  public  moneys  to  be  applied. 

"  The  present  consideration  of  a  national  establishment  for  education 
'  particularly  is  rendered  proper  by  this  circumstance  also  :  that  if  Con- 
'  gress,  approving  the  proposition,  shall  yet  think  it  more  eligible  to 
'  fund  it  on  a  donation  of  lands,  they  have  it  now  in  their  power  to  en- 
'  dow  it  with  those  which  will  be  among  the  earliest  to  produce  the 
'  necessary  income.  The  foundation  would  have  the  advantage  of 
'  being  independent  on  war,  which  may  suspend  other  improvements 
'  by  requiring  for  its  own  purposes  the  resources  destined  for  them." 

The  attack  on  the  Chesapeake,  the  embargo,  non-importation,  and 
non-intercourse  acts,  and  the  existing  serious  differences  with  Great 
Britain,  forbade  any  legislative  action,  or  any  further  attention  to  the 
subject  on  the  part  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON.  But  his  warm  recommenda- 
tion of  a  National  University  confirms  the  high  reputation  he  enjoyed 
as  the  friend  of  education,  and  should  have  great  weight  with  every 
member  of  our  National  Council  and  every  citizen  of  the  Republic. 

JAMES  MADISON,  a  man,  as  we  all  wrell  know,  of  enlarged  and  most 
liberal  views  in  matters  both  private  and  public,  though  a  strict  con- 
structionist  of  the  Constitution,  revived  the  question  in  his  first  message 
to  Congress.  He  says  :  "  Whilst  it  is  universally  admitted  that  a  well- 
'  instructed  people  alone  can  be  permanently  a  free  people,  and  whilst 
'  it  is  evident  that  the  means  of  diffusing  and  improving  knowledge 
'  form  so  small  a  proportion  of  the  expenditures  for  national  purposes, 
'  I  cannot  presume  it  to  be  unreasonable  to  invite  your  attention  to  the 
'  advantages  of  super  adding  to  the  means  of  education,  provided  by 
1  the  several  States,  a  seminary  of  learning,  instituted  by  the  Na- 
1  tional  Legislature  within  the  limits  of  their  exclusive  jurisdiction, 
'  the  expense  of  which  might  be  defrayed  or  reimbursed  out  of  the 
'  vacant  grounds  which  have  accrued  to  the  nation  within  those  limits. 

"  Such  an  institution,  though  local  in  its  character,  would  be  univer- 
'  sal  in  its  beneficial  effects.  By  enlightening  the  opinions,  by  expand 
1  ing  the  patriotism, and  by  assimilating  the  principles,  the  sentiments, 
1  and  the  manners  of  those  who  might  resort  to  this  temple  of  science, 
1  to  be  re-distributed  in  due  time  through  every  part  of  the  community, 
'  sources  of  jealousy  and  prejudice  would  be  diminished,  the  features 
(  of  national  character  would  be  multiplied,  and  greater  extent  given 
c  to  social  harmony.  But  above  all,  a  well-conatiiutcd  seminary,  in 


'  the  centre  of  the  nation,  is  recommended  by  the  consideration  that 

•  the  additional  instruction  emanating  from  it  would  contribute  not 
'  less  to  strengthen  the  foundation  than  to  adorn  the  structure  of  our 
1  free  and  happy  system  of  Government" 

Again,  in  his  message  of  December  5th,  1816,  Mr.  MADISON  observes: 

"  The  present  is  a  favorable  season  for  bringing  again  into  view  the 

1  establishment  of  a  National  Seminary  of  learning  within  the  District 

'  of  Columbia,  and  with  means  drawn  from  the  property  therein,  sub- 

*  ject  to  the  authority  of  the  General  Government.     Such  an  institu- 
1  tion  claims  the  patronage  of  Congress,  as  a  monument  of  their 
'  solicitude  for  the   advancement  of  knowledge,  without  which   the 
'  blessings  of  liberty  cannot  be  fully  enjoyed  or  long  preserved  ;  as  a 
'  model  instructive  in  the  formation  of  the  seminaries  ;  as  a  nursery  of 
1  enlightened  preceptors-,  as  a  central  resort  of  youth  and  genius  from 
L  every  part  of  their  country,  diffusing  on  their  return  examples  of 
'  those  national  feelings,  those  liberal  sentiments,  and  those  congenial 
'  manners  which  contribute  cement  to  our  Union,  and  strength  to  the 
'  political  fabric  of  which  that  is  the  foundation." 

I  have  been  free  with  italics,  because  I  consider  those  parts  so  mark- 
ed peculiarly  appropriate  and  important.  And  I  must  remark  that  I 
cannot  conceive  how  any  public  man  can  be  so  presumptuous  as  to  assert 
and  support  doctrines  opposed  to  the  opinions  of  such  patriots  as  WASH- 
INGTON, JEFFERSON,  and  MADISON.  I  conceive  that  the  extracts  I 
have  made  ftom  the  Presidential  messages  in  question  are  conclusive 
in  the  case,  and  I  will  not  do  the  present  Congress  the  injustice  to  sup- 
pose for  a  moment  that,  when  the  subject  is  properly  brought  to  their 
notice,  as  it  has  been,  to  some  extent,  by  our  actual  President,  a  prompt 
and  satisfactory  action  will  not  be  the  consequence. 

I  shall  continue  in  my  next  the  discussion  of  the  point  I  am  now 
endeavoring  to  press  upon  the  attention  of  the  public,  and  will  endea- 
vor to  prove  that  there  should  be  no  more  delay  on  the  part  of  Congress 
in  complying  with  the  trust  of  Mr.  SMITHSON,  and  that  the  National 
Institute  deserves  its  special  and  favorable  attention  in  this  matter  as  in 
others.  I  remain  yours,  respectfully, 

J.  C.  &, 


16 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  BEQUEST. 
LETTER   No.  IV. 

WASHINGTON,  December  30,  1843. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS  :  Having  shown  in  may  last  number  by  extracts 
from  the  speeches  and  messages  of  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madi- 
son, that  those  illustrious  men  gave  to  education  the  importance  allow- 
ed it  by  all  intelligent  citizens,  and  entertained  no  serious  constitutional 
scruples  of  the  power  of  Congress  to  establish  a  National  University  in 
this  District,  I  trust  such  testimony  will  prevent  any  one  at  this  late 
day  from  being  so  bold  as  to  enter  the  list  with  them,  and  convince  the 
public  that  the  subject  is  worthy  their  most  serious  attention.  Strong, 
then,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  such  patriots  as  our  three  best  Presidents, 
and  incited  by  the  hope  of  being  able  to  aid,  in  some  small  degree,  the 
cause  of  knowledge  and  education,  I  proceed  in  a  few  words  on  the 
subject  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  "  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,"  trusting  that  the  nation  and  Congress  will  alike  be  im- 
pressed with  the  urgency  of  the  case,  and  the  necessity  of  redeeming 
the  national  honor  from  a  reproach  which  has  been  allowed  to  last 
too  long. 

I  shall  commence  the  subject  by  a  brief  statement  of  some  of  the 
facts  attending  the  management  and  progress  of  this  claim,  finally  de- 
cided in  the  Court  of  Chancery  in  favor  of  the  United  States,  by  which 
this  Government  became  the  trustee  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  Mr. 
Smithson's  bequest.  This  decision  was  communicated  to  the  Hon. 
John  Forsyth,  then  Secretary  of  State,  under  date  of  May  12,  1838,  by 
the  Hon.  Richard  Rush,  the  special  agent  of  the  United  States  in  Lon- 
don for  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  with  the  following  remarks :  "  On  the 

*  whole,  I  ask  leave  to  congratulate  the  President  and  yourself  on  the 

*  result.     A  suit  of  higher  interest  and  dignity  has  rarely,  perhaps,  been 
'  before  the  tribunals  of  a  nation.     If  the  trust  created  by  the  testator's 
'  will  be  successfully  carried  into  effect  by  the  enlightened  legislation 

*  of  Congress,  benefits  may  flow  to  the  United  States  and  to  the  human 

*  family  not  easy  to  be  estimated,  because  operating  silently  and  gradu- 

*  ally  throughout  time,  yet  operating  not  the  less  effectually.     Not  to 
4  speak  of  the  inappreciable  value  of  letters  to  individual  and  social 
'  man,  die  monuments  which  they  raise  to  a  nation's  glory  often  last 
'  when  others  perish,  and  seem  especially  appropriate  to  the  glory  of  a 
'  Republic  whose  foundations  are  laid  in  the  presumed  intelligence  of 


17 

*  its  citizens,  and  can  only  be  strengthened  and  perpetuated  as  that 

*  improves." 

The  amount  paid  by  Mr.  Rush  into  the  Treasury  in  September, 
1838,  was  £1 04,960  8s.  6rf.,  equal  to  $508,318  46;  and  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  under  date  of  December  3, 1838,  reported  to  the  Presi- 
dent, that  "  in  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  6th  section  of  the 
'  act  of  Congress  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United 
'  States,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  6th  July,  1838,  the  sum  of 

*  $499,500  has  been  expended  in  the  purchase  of  five  hundred  bonds  of 
'  the  State  of  Arkansas  for  $1,000  each,  bearing  6  per  cent,  interest, 

*  payable  semi-annually,  on  the  first  day  of  January  and  July  in  each 

*  year,  from  the  fourth  day  of  September  last,  (the  period  of  their  pur- 
<  chase.)     The  further  sum  of  $8,270  67  has  been  applied  to  the  pur- 
'  chase  of  eight  bonds  of  the  State  of  Michigan,  bearing  6  per  cent,  in- 

*  terest,  payable  semi-annually  hereafter,  on  the  first  Mondays  in  Janu- 

*  ary  and  July,  from  the  first  May  last,"  leaving  in  the  Treasury  the 
sum  of  $547  79,  which  was  not  then,  but  would  be,  as  soon  as  a  favor- 
able opportunity  offered,  invested. 

It  is  a  matter  of  no  importance,  so  far  as  the  public  here  and  abroad 
are  concerned,  whether  the  two  States  in  question  pay  the  interest  on 
the  above  sum  or  not.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  having 
accepted  the  trust  created  by  the  will  of  James  Smithson,  bearing  date 
the  23d  of  October,  1826,  by  a  solemn  act  of  1st  July,  1836,  stand  re- 
sponsible in  the  face  of  the  whole  world  for  the  prompt  and  full  per- 
formance of  said  trust,  and  to  that  Government  alone  are  we  to  look  for 
the  forthcoming  of  the  money  when  the  plan  shall  have  been  agreed 
upon  by  Congress  for  carrying  the  bequest  into  execution. 

That  the  fit  time  has  arrived  for  carrying  that  bequest  into  execution, 
and  for  redeeming  the  national  honor  from  the  reproach  of  indifference 
to  a  solemn  obligation  voluntarily  incurred,  our  present  President  asserts, 
when,  in  the  paragraph  of  his  last  message  wherein  he  so  warmly  recom- 
mends the  interests  of  this  District  to  the  paternal  care  of  Congress,  he 
says :  "  In  connexion  with  its  other  interests,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
'  whole  country,  I  recommend  that  at  your  present  session  you  adopt 
'  such  measures,  in  order  to  carry  into  effect  the  Smithsonian  bequest, 
'  as  in  your  judgment  will  be  best  calculated  to  consummate  the  liberal 
'  intent  of  the  testator." 

The  subject,  therefore,  being  thus  officially  before  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  as  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  recommendation  of 
3 


18 

the  President  will  meet  with  prompt  and  serious  attention  at  the  hands 
of  the  members,  I  deem  it  highly  important  to  urge  the  public  to  give 
particular  notice  to  the  progress  of  this  interesting  business  as  one  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  Republic. 

'  Being,  then,  of  opinion  that  during  the  present  session  Congress  may 
be  pursuaded  to  take  the  matter  in  hand,  and  do  justice  to  themselves 
and  the  nation,  I  shall  allude  to  some  few  of  the  plans  proposed  by 
several  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  this  country  for  the  execution  of 
the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson. 

The  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  having  been  applied  to,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  desire  of  the  then  President  to  consult  the  views  of  per- 
sons versed  in  science  and  in  matters  relating  to  public  education,  as  to 
the  modes  of  applying  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  by  the  Hon.  Johu 
Foray th,  Secretary  of  State,  by  letter  dated  July  19,  1838,  answered 
October  6th,  of  same  year,  as  follows  : 

"  This,  (the  investment  in  State  stocks,  which  he  disapproved  of,) 
'  however,  was  a  temporary  investment  of  the  fund,  which  I  was  wil- 

*  ling  to  hope  would,  under  no  consideration,  be  made  permanent.     In 

*  the  report  of  the  committee  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  accom- 
1  panying  the  bill  which  authorized  the  President  to  take  the  necessary 
4  measures  for  recovering  the  fund,  I  had  set  forth  in  very  explicit  lan- 
'  guage  my  sense  of  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  the  Government 

*  of  the  United  States  by  their  acceptance,  in  behalf  of  the  nation,  of 

<  this  bequest;  and  with  the  same  views  I  introduced  into  the  bill  a 
1  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States  that  the  fund  should  be 
1  applied  to  the  generous  purpose  of  the  testator." 

Mr.  Adams  then  goes  on  to  suggest  that  annual  courses  on  the 
principal  sciences,  physical  and  mathematical,  moral,  political,  and  lit- 
erary, to  be  delivered  not  by  permanent  professors,  but  by  persons  an- 
nually appointed,  with  a  liberal  compensation  for  each  course,  were 
among  the  means  well  adapted  to  the  end  of  increasing  and  diffusing 
knowledge  among  men. 

"  But  the  great  object  of  my  solicitude,"  he  continues,  "would  be  to 
1  guard  against  the  canker  of  almost  all  charitable  foundations — jobbing 
'  for  parasites  and  sops  for  hungry  incapacity.  For  the  economical 
'  management  of  the  fund,  and  the  periodical  application  of  it  to  appro- 

<  priate  expenditures,  it  should  be  invested  in  a  board  of  trustees,  to 
'  consist  partly  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  with  the  Secretaries  of  the 

*  Departments,  the  Attorney  General,  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Wash- 


19 

*  ington,  and  one  or  more  inhabitants  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  be 
'  incorporated  as  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  with  a  secretary  and 
c  treasurer  in  one  person,  and  to  be  the  only  salaried  person  of  the 
'  board ;  to  be  appointed  for  four  years,  and  be  capable  of  reappoint- 
<  ment,  but  removable  for  adequate  cause  by  a  majority  of  the  Board." 

The  letter  concludes  with  the  recommendation  of  a  National  Obser- 
vatory as  a  part  of  the  plan  proposed,  with  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I 
do  not  agree,  (meaning  to  express  my  difference  from  the  venerable 
writer  in  all  deference,)  and  for  the  reason  that,  as  the  National  Depot 
of  Charts  and  Instruments,  or  National  Observatory,  and  the  observatory 
at  Georgetown  College,  both  of  which  will  be  soon  ready  for  use,  will 
answer  the  wants  of  the  community  in  astronomy  and  the  sciences 
therewith  connected,  I  do  not  see  why  the  fund  should  be  taken  from 
other  important  objects  by  any  appropriation  of  the  kind.  I  trust,  how- 
ever, that  Mr.  Adams  has  changed  his  views  on  this  point  since  the 
establishment  of  the  two  above  mentioned  institutions  in  this  District. 

Professor  Way  land,  who  was  also  applied  to  on  the  subject  at  the 
same  time,  in  his  letter  of  October  2,  1838,  proposed  a  "National  Uni- 
versity," occupying  the  space  between  the  close  of  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion and  a  professional  school ;  that  there  should  be  public  lectures  on 
Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  the  Oriental  languages;  that  all  the  modern 
languages  of  any  use  to  the  scholar  should  be  taught;  astronomy,  engi- 
neering, civil  and  military ;  the  art  of  war,  beginning  where  it  is  left  off 
at  West  Point;  chemistry,  geology,  mining,  music,  and  poetry;  politi- 
cal economy,  intellectual  philosophy,  physiology,  vegetable  and  animal ; 
anatomy,  human,  comparative ;  history,  the  laws  of  nations  and  the 
general  principles  of  law,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

The  young  men  to  provide  for  themselves  board  and  lodging,  and 
the  professors  to  be  responsible  only  for  their  education.  The  funds  to 
be  devoted  as  follows  : 

1st.  A  part  to  the  creation  of  a  library,  cabinets,  and  furnishing  ap- 
paratus necessary  to  the  instructors. 

2d.  A  part  to  the  erection  of  buildings  for  the  above  purposes,  together 
with  buildings  for  professors'  houses. 

3d.  A  fund  should  be  established  for  the  endowment  of  professor- 
ships, giving  to  each  so  much  as  may  form  a  portion,  say  one-third  or 
one-half  of  his  living,  and  the  rest  to  be  provided  for  by  the  sale  of  the 
tickets  to  his  course. 

For  the  other  details  of  this  valuable  letter,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the 
document  itself. 


20 

I  shall  close  the  present  article,  as  I  promised  in  the  beginning  not 
to  occupy  too  much  space  in  your  columns,  by  quoting  some  of  the 
most  prominent  suggestions  of  the  Hon.  Richard  Rush  to  the  appeal  of 
the  Secretary.  And  before  doing  this,  I  deem  it  due  to  justice  to  say 
that  I  most  sincerely  believe  the  thanks  of  this  nation  and  of  the  whole 
civilized  world  are  his  right,  for  the  very  able,  faithful,  and  efficient 
manner  in  v/hich  he  executed  the  delicate  and  important  duties  of  spe- 
cial agent  for  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  and  the  interesting  communica- 
tions he  has  since  made  on  the  same  subject  through  the  channel  of  the 
National  Institute. 

The  suggestions  of  the  letter,  dated  November  6, 1838,  are  as  follows : 
That  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  consuls  and  ministers  of  the  United 
States,  might  be  employed  in  aiding  in  the  objects  of  the  Smithsonian 
university;  the  erection  of  a  building  at  Washington,  with  accommoda- 
tions for  the  business  of  the  institution,  and  ground  to  be  attached  suffi- 
cient to  produce  seeds  and  plants. 

The  officers  to  consist  of  Director,  Secretary,  Librarian,  and  Treasu- 
rer, and  persons  under  them  to  take  care  of  grounds,  &c.,  all  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  and  Senate.  The  Director  to  make  an  annual 
report,  or  more  frequently,  if  necessary.  Affairs  to  be  subject  to  the 
visitation  of  the  President,  aided  by  a  standing  Board,  to  consist  of  the 
chief  officers  of  the  Government.  The  institution  to  have  a  press,  or 
authority  to  employ  one ;  nothing  to  be  printed  but  under  the  sanction 
of  the  Director  and  standing  Board  of  Visiters.  And  for  the  good  gov- 
ernment of  the  institution,  the  standing  Board  may  call  in  the  assistance 
of  three  or  more  scientific  or  literary  persons  unconnected  with  it ;  the 
profit  of  all  publications  to  go  in  aid  of  the  funds,  &c.  Lectureships  to 
be  established,  with  apparatus  for  the  different  branches. 

I  would  refer  the  reader  for  particulars  to  the  source  itself,  from 
which  I  have  made  these  extracts,  being  document  No.  11,  25th  Con- 
gress, House  of  Representatives,  where  he  will  also  find  interesting  let- 
ters on  the  same  subject  from  Professors  Cooper  and  Chapin. 

I  may  be  allowed  to  express,  in  conclusion,  my  satisfaction  in  finding 
that  an  able  co-laborer  is  out  in  your  columns  in  behalf  of  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest,  over  the  signature  of  "  W.,"  and  trust  that  other  pens 
may  be  employed  in  the  same  creditable  manner. 

I  shall  continue  the  discussion  of  the  present  question  in  my  next, 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  am  respectfully,  yours, 

J.  C.  B. 


21 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  BEQUEST. 

LETTER  No.  V. 

WASHINGTON,  January  6,  1844. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS  :  Having  referred  in  my  last  number  to  several 
plans,  proposed  in  consequence  of  the  request  of  the  President,  convey- 
ed through  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  the  late  Mr.  Forsyth,  in  relation 
to  the  mode  in  which  the  Smithson  Fund  should  be  employed  "  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  before  I  proceed 
to  the  quotation  of  different  portions  of  the  Report  of  the  Hon.  John 
Quincy  Adams,  from  the  Select  Committee  to  whom  the  subject  was 
referred  in  1842,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  gen- 
erous testator  to  whose  liberality  we  owe  such  a  legacy,  and  whose 
memory,  therefore,  should  be  endeared  to  every  citizen  of  this  Republic. 

The  Hon.  Richard  Rush,  in  his  letter  of  May  12th,  1838,  from  which 
I  have  made  extracts  in  my  last,  informs  the  Secretary  of  State  that 
James  Smithson  was  the  natural  son  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland; 
that  his  mother  was  a  Mrs.  Macie,  of  an  ancient  family  of  Wiltshire,  of 
the  name  of  Hungerford ;  that  he  was  educated  at  Oxford,  where  he 
took  an  honorary  degree  in  1 786 ;  that  he  took  the  name  of  James 
Lewis  Macie,  until  a  few  years  after  he  had  left  the  University,  when 
he  changed  it  for  Smithson ;  and  that  he  does  not  appear  to  have  had 
any  fixed  home,  living  in  lodgings  when  in  London,  and  occasionally 
a  year  or  two  at  a  time  in  the  cities  on  the  Continent,  as  Paris,  Berlin, 
Florence,  and  Genoa,  at  which  last  place  he  died ;  and  that  the  ample 
provision  made  for  him  by  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  with  retired 
and  simple  habits,  enabled  him  to  accumulate  the  fortune  which  passed 
to  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Adams,  from  the  Select  Committee  above  mentioned,  speaks  as 
follows :  "  The  testator,  James  Smithson,  a  subject  of  Great  Britain, 
'  declares  himself,  in  the  caption  to  the  will,  a  descendant  in  blood  from 
'  the  Percies  and  Seymours,  two  of  the  most  illustrious  historical  names 
*  of  the  British  Islands.  Nearly  two  centuries  since,  in  1660,  the  an- 
'  cestor  of  his  own  name,  Hugh  Smithson,  immediately  after  the  resto- 
1  radon  of  the  royal  family  of  the  Stuarts,  received  from  Charles  the 
'  Second,  as  a  reward  for  his  eminent  services  to  that  house  during  the 
'  civil  wars,  the  dignity  of  Baronet  of  England — a  dignity  still  held  by 
'  the  Dukes  of  Northumberland  as  descendants  from  the  same  Hugh 
i  Smithson.  The  father  of  the  testator,  by  his  marriage  with  the  Lady 


22 

«  Elizabeth  Seymour,  who  was  descended  by  a  female  line  from  the 
'  ancient  Percies,  and  by  the  subsequent  creation  of  George  the  Third 

*  in  1766,  became  the  first  Duke  of  Northumberland.     His  son  and 
1  successor,  the  brother  of  the  testator,  known  in  the  history  of  our  Rev- 
1  olutionary  war  by  the  name  of  Lord  Percy,  was  present,  as  a  British 
'  officer,  at  the  sanguinary  opening  scene  of  our  Revolutionary  war  at 
'  Lexington,  and  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill;  and  was  the  bearer  to 

*  the  British  Government  of  the  despatches  from  the  commander-in-chief 

*  of  the  Royal  forces  announcing  the  event  of  that  memorable  day :  and 

*  the  present  Duke  of  Northumberland,  the  testator's  nephew,  was  the 

*  ambassador  extraordinary  of  Great  Britain  sent  to  assist  at  the  corona- 
'  tion  of  the  late  King  of  France,  Charles  the  Tenth,  a  few  months  only 
'  before  the  date  of  this  bequest  from  his  relative  to  the  United  States 
'  of  America." 

Is  it  not  rather  a  strange  coincidence,  that,  from  a  near  relative  of  the 
man  who  first  drew  sword  against  the  liberties  of  this  country,  should 
proceed  the  means  of  perpetuating  and  consolidating  those  liberties  by 
the  diffusion  of  education,  that  main  pillar  and  foundation  of  republican 
institutions?  Let  us,  on  our  side,  then,  obey  this  striking  interference 
and  dispensation  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  and  lose  no  more  precious 
time  in  carrying  such  noble  intentions  into  salutary  operation. 

The  venerable  and  eloquent  reporter  continues  in  the  following 
beautiful  strain  :  "  The  father  of  the  testator,  upon  forming  his  alliance 

*  with  the  heiress  of  the  family  of  the  Percies,  assumed  by  an  act  of 
1  the  British  Parliament  that  name,  and  under  it  became  Duke  of  Nor- 
'  thumberland.     But,  renowned  as  is  the  name  of  Percy  in  the  histori- 
'  cal  annals  of  England ;  resounding  as  it  does  from  the  summit  of  the 

*  Cheviot  Hills  to  the  ears  of  our  children,  in  the  ballad  of  Chevy  chase, 
'  with  the  classical  commentary  of  Addison ;  freshened  and  renovated 

in  our  memory  as  it  has  recently  been,  from  the  purest  fountain  of 
poetical  inspiration,  in  the  loftier  strain  of  Alnwick  castle,  tuned  by  a 
bard  of  our  own  native  land,  (Fitz  Greene  Halleck;)  doubly  immor- 
talized as  it  is  in  the  deathless  dramas  of  Shakespeare ;  '  confident 
against  the  world  in  arms,'  as  it  may  have  been  in  ages  long  past,  and 
may  still  be  in  the  virtues  of  its  present  possessors  by  inheritance,  let 
the  trust  of  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States  of  America  be 
faithfully  executed  by  their  Representatives  in  Congress — let  the 
result  accomplish  his  object, '  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men/  and  a  wreath  of  more  unfading  virtue  shall  entwine 


23 

'  itself  in  the  lapse  of  future  ages  around  the  name  of  Smilhson  than 
i  the  united  hands  of  tradition,  history,  and  poetry  have  braided  around 
'  the  name  of  Percy,  through  the  long  perspective  in  ages  past  of  a 
'  thousand  years." 

To  this  well-deserved  and  glowing  eulogy  of  a  man  who  has  proved 
himself  a  true  philanthropist  and  lover  of  mankind,  there  should  be 
but  one  response,  and  that  of  approbation.  To  his  high  opinion  of 
republican  institutions,  and  his  remembrance  of  the  great  ends  he 
adopted  in  his  will,  we  should  afford  an  efficient  and  prompt  attention, 
this  being  the  very  best  of  all  methods  to  show  to  the  world  that  we  are 
worthy  of  the  sublime  compliment  paid  to  our  country. 

In  the  words  of  the  report,  "  of  all  the  foundations  of  establishments 
'  for  pious  or  charitable  uses,  which  ever  signalized  the  spirit  of  the 
(  age,  or  the  comprehensive  beneficence  of  the  founder,  none  can  be 

*  named  more  deserving  of  the  approbation  of  mankind  than  this 
'  Should  it  be  faithfully  carried  into  effect,  with  an  earnestness  and  sa- 

*  gacity  of  application,  and  a  steady  perseverance  of  pursuit,  propor- 
c  tioned  to  the  means  furnished  by  the  will  of  the  founder,  and  to  the 
{  greatness  and  simplicity  of  his  design,  as  by  himself  declared,  *  the 
'  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men/  it  is  no  extrava- 
'  gance  of  anticipation  to  declare  that  his  name  will  be  hereafter  enrolled 
'  among  the  eminent  benefactors  of  mankind." 

The  report  goes  on  then  to  enforce  the  sacred  nature  of  the  charge 
entrusted  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  insist  upon 
the  necessity  of  a  faithful  compliance  with  the  conditions  of  the  will, 
and  a  judicious  employment  of  the  fund  so  received  in  trust.  "In  the 
'  commission  of  every  trust,"  says  the  chairman,  "  there  is  an  implied 
{  tribute  of  the  soul  to  the  integrity  and  intelligence  of  the  trustee ;  and 
'  there  is  also  an  implied  call  for  the  faithful  exercise  of  those  proper- 
'  ties  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  purpose  of  the  trust.  The  tribute  and  the 
'  call  acquire  additional  force  and  energy  when  the  trust  is  committed 
'  for  performance  after  the  decease  of  him  by  whom  it  is  granted — when 
'  he  no  longer  exists  to  witness  or  to  constrain  the  effective  fulfilment 
'  of  his  design.  The  magnitude  of  the  trust,  and  the  extent  of  con- 
1  fidence  bestowed  on  the  committal  of  it,  do  but  enlarge  and  aggravate 

*  the  pressure  of  the  obligation  which  it  carries  with  it.     The  weight  of 
'  the  duty  imposed,  is  proportioned  to  the  honor  conferred  by  confidence 
'  without  reserve.    Your  committee  are  fully  persuaded,  therefore,  that, 
'  with  a  grateful  sense  of  the  honor  conferred  by  the  testator  upon  the 


political  institutions  of  this  Union,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
in  accepting  the  bequest,  will  feel,  in  all  its  power  and  plenitude,  the 
obligation  of  responding  to  the  confidence  reposed  by  him  with  all  the 
fidelity,  disinterestedness,  and  perseverance  of  exertion  which  may 
carry  into  effective  execution  the  noble  purpose  of  an  endowment  for 
'  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

Before  leaving  this  able  and  interesting  report,  (see  Rep.  No.  587, 
27th  Congress,  2d  Session,)  I  may  state,  that  from  it  it  appears  that 
subsequent  to  the  investment  in  the  stocks  of  Arkansas  and  Michigan, 
mentioned  in  my  last,  $3,800  of  the  stocks  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
$3,600  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  $1,800  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  have  .been 
invested,  as  also  the  sum  of  $1,291  86,  at  the  rate  of  5|  per  cent,  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Eight  years  have  elapsed  sincethe  fact  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest 
was  communicated  to  Congress  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  said  bequest  was  solemnly  accepted  by  Congress  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1836,  and  the  faith  of  the  United  States  was  by  that  act  expressly 
pledged  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  trust  assumed  by  the  accep- 
tance of  the  bequest.  An  agent  was  appointed  by  virtue  of  this  act, 
who,  by  decree  of  chancery,  recovered  a  sum,  which,  on  the  1st  of 
September,  1838,  was  deposited  in  gold  at  the  United  States  Mint  at 
Philadelphia,  amounting  to  $508,318  46.  The  duty  of  Congress  to 
comply  with  the  terms  of  the  trust  thus  created  has  been  urged  by  Presi- 
dential Messages  at  various  times.  Committees  have  been  appointed 
on  the  part  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  result  of  which  has  been 
merely  the  report  of  the  select  committee  referred  to,  which  has  never 
been  acted  upon  by  the  House,  and  a  resolution  of  the  20th  February, 
1839,  from  the  Senator  who  had  been  the  chairman  of  the  joint  com- 
mittee in  question,  which  on  the  1st  of  March  following  was  laid  on 
the  table  by  the  Senate.  Our  present  President  has  finally  brought  the 
subject  again  before  Congress  in  his  late  message,  and  a  committee,  I 
believe,  has  been  appointed  in  the  Senate  to  take  the  matter  into  con- 
sideration. 

Thus  this  long  space  of  time  has  been  allowed  to  elapse  without  any 
efficient  action  on  the  part  of  the  trustee  under  this  humane  and  noble 
bequest.  Whenever  the  subject  has  been  brought  up  for  discussion  it 
has  been  met  with  indifference,  or  the  constitutional  scruples  of  hair- 
splitting politicians.  And  how  long,  if  another  and  a  more  worthy 
spirit  do  not  stir  up  and  animate  our  Congress,  public  men,  and  the 


25 

community  than  has  hitherto  been  the  case,  this  disreputable  disregard 
to  our  solemn  pledge  and  sense  of  duty  shall  endure  and  be  tolerated, 
is  beyond  my  means  of  imagining. 

I  write  advisedly  and  calmly  when  I  assert  that  this  neglect  of  trust 
on  the  part  of  our  Government  is  a  national  disgrace,  and  should  not  be 
allowed  to  soil  .our  name  one  hour  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessaiy. 
I  say  to  the  members  of  both  Houses,  why  waste  precious  days  in  the 
discussion  of  local  and  abstract  questions,  whereof  the  large  proportion 
can  produce  no  good  fruit,  when  a  subject  of  deep  interest,  not  to  these 
States  merely,  nor  to  this  continent,  but  to  the  whole  civilized  world,  is 
at  your  doors  asking  for  admission,  and  clamorous  for  action?  Why 
spend  your  time  in  the  rabid  contest  of  factions,  the  debating  of  ques- 
tions which  must  be  confined  in  their  operations,  and  little  calculated 
to  add  to  the  durable  fame  of  those  who  discuss  them,  when  you  here 
have  a  subject  which,  if  settled  without  further  delay,  and  that  in  a 
spirit  of  liberality,  judgment,  and  an  intelligent  intendment  of  the 
wishes  of  the  testator,  will  distinguish  the  present  Congress  among  its 
fellows,  as  the  honest  performer  of  a  solemn  trust  and  the  friend  and 
patron  of  education,  that  best  and  most  enduring  bulwark  and  support 
of  republican  institutions?  I  envy  no  man  who  raises  himself  to  tem- 
porary, and  but  too  often  undeserved,  popularity,  by  identifying  himself 
with  some  local  and  insignificant  subject,  of  little  or  no  interest  to  the 
public  at  large  ;  but  I  do  envy  that  servant  of  the  people  who,  adopting 
and  carrying  into  practice  the  opinions  of  such  great  and  true  patriots  as 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  John  Q-uincy  Adams,  in  relation 
to  education  and  science,  soars  far  above  paltry  questions,  and  estab 
lishes  his  claim  to  the  gratitude  of  posterity  by  enlarged  views  and 
generous  acts.  That  the  present  Congress  have  it  in  their  power  to  do 
a  just  and  honorable  act,  in  carrying  out  as  soon  as  practicable  the 
Smithsonian  bequest,  is  a  high  and  an  enviable  privilege,  which  they 
ought  not,  if  they  be  wise  and  patriotic,  to  lose  by  neglect.  That  they 
will  take  speedy  steps  to  redeem  the  national  honor  from  the  reproach 
which  for  so  many  long  years  has  clung  to  it,  I  do  not  allow  myself  to 
doubt ;  and  I  believe  that  the  following  motion  of  the  Hon.  JOHN 
Q.UINCY  ADAMS,  in  the  House  of  Representatives  last  Wednesday,  is  a 
premonitory  symptom  of  such  a  laudable  intention  on  the  part  of  that 
body  to  redeem  the  plighted  faith  of  the  nation  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be  directed  to  report  to  this  House  the 
present  state  and  condition  of  the  funds  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to  the  United 
States,  for  the  establishment,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  of  an  institution  for  the  increase 

4 


26 

and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men ;  with  a  statement  of  what  payments  of  interest 
have  been  received,  and  what,  if  any,  have  been  refused  or  withheld  on  the  State  stocks 
in  which  the  said  funds  were  invested ;  the  amounts  of  interest  so  withheld  or  refused  to 
be  paid,  and  what  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  Secretary  to  recover  the  same.  Also, 
by  whose  agency  the  said  investments  were  made ;  with  copies  of  any  correspondence  of 
the  Treasury  Department  with  such  agents  relating  thereto." 

This  looks  very  much  like  action  ;  and  no  person  is  better  fitted  to 
conduct  the  matter  than  the  distinguished  Ex-President,  the  fast  friend 
to  the  objects  of  the  Smithsonian  Fund. 

I  shall,  in  my  next,  gentlemen,  devote  some  space  to  the  recent  sug- 
gestions in  relation  to  the  employment  of  the  Smithsonian  Fund,  of 
Messrs.  Rush,  and  Duponceau,  and  Preston,  and  their  proposals  to 
place  it  under  the  management  of  the  National  Institute,  and  to  the 
development  of  some  of  my  own  private  views  on  the  same  subject. 
Yours,  respectfully,  J.  C.  B. 


NATIONAL  INSTITUTE. 


LETTER  No.  VI. 

WASHINGTON,  January  13,  1844. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS  :  Having  in  my  last  made  divers  brief  quotations 
from  the  report  of  the  select  committee  to  which  the  subject  of  the 
Smithsonian  Bequest  was  referred,  proposing  a  plan  for  carrying  it  into 
execution,  and  urging  a  prompt  attention  to  the  same  on  the  part  of 
Congress  and  the  nati6n,  I  now  proceed  to  show  that  Messrs.  Rush, 
Duponceau,  Preston,  and  Maxcy  were  of  opinion  that  the  said  bequest 
might  be  judiciously  entrusted  to  the  management  of  the  National  In- 
stitute in  this  city. 

The  first  named  gentleman,  whose  acquaintance  with  the  subject 
and  deep  interest  in  the  matter  every  one  must  admire  and  concede,  in 
his  letter  of  March  4,  1842,  to  Francis  Markoe,  Esq.,  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  National  Institute,  among  other  reflections  and  argu- 
ments, observes : 

"  Let,  then,  this  precious  fund  (the  Smithsonian)  no  longer  be  idle. 
1  Let  it  be  made  to  yield,  without  more  delay,  those  moral  blessings  for 
{  which  it  was  sent  to  this  hemisphere.  Let  Congress  take  your  Insti- 
1  tution  as  a  foundation.  In  the  contrariety  of  opinion  as  to  any  other 
{  plan,  the  much  longer  postponement,  if  not  entire  frustration  of  the 
c  benign  intentions  of  the  donor,  is  too  much  to  be  feared. 


27 

"  Being  yourselves  but  trustees  for  diffusing  knowledge  among  your 
'  fellow  men,  and  seeking  nothing  selfish,  there  could  be  no  objection 
'  to  your  asking  Congress  to  invest  you,'  under  its  own  guards  and 
'  sanctions,  with  the  fund.  By  my  estimate  of  duty,  you  owe  it  to 
<  science  and  your  country  to  take  that  step  on  the  broadest  grounds  of 
1  utility  to  both.  In  your  ministration,  with  the  aid  of  so  rich  an  in- 
'  vestment,  to  the  mental  wants  of  the  community,  much  might  be 
'  hoped  from  salutary  influences  in  calming  the  too  intense  and  exclu- 
'  sive  excitements  at  Washington,  where  only  a  slender  population  is 
'  concentrated.  By  bringing  to  that  seat  of  official  power  other  excite- 
'  ments  in  diversified  objects  of  intellectual  curiosity  and  attention,  a 
'  change  might  be  witnessed  that  would  act  usefully  upon  the  spirit  of 

*  legislation  itself,  producing  good  effects  to  the  whole  Union.     These 
1  are  not  irrational  hopes.     Knowledge  is  strengthened  by  its  alliance 

*  with  power.     Power  is  raised  and  purified  in  its  aims  and  chastened 

*  in  its  exercise  by  the  influence  of  knowledge.     Every  day's  delay  in 
'  improving  the  Smithsonian  Fund  to  its  intended  and  stipulated  uses, 
'  is  an  injury  to  the  present  and  future  race  of  men.     It  is  a  wrong, 
1  silent  in  its  operation,  but  not  the  less  a  wrong.     Let  me  even  say 
'  that  one  of  the  incidental  uses  of  the  fund,  when  in  activity  at  the 

*  seat  of  Government,  will  be  to  shed  a  benign  aid  towards  the  perma- 
'  nency  of  the  Union  itself,  by  that  community  of  mind  and  feeling 
'  which  science  and  literature,  well  endowed  and  cultivated  at  the  me- 
4  tropolis,  will  in  time  help  to  engender  and  diffuse." 

In  his  letter  to  the  National  Institute  of  November,  1840,  Mr.  Du- 
ponceau  recommends  that  association  as  a  fit  agent  for  carrying  into 
effect  the  objects  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest  in  these  terms :  "  I  have 
'  always  been  of  opinion  that  it  was  such  an  institution  as  yours  at  the 
'  seat  of  Government  that  Mr.  Smithson  had  in  view  when  he  made 
'  his  munificent  legacy  to  the  United  States.  He  could  not  mean,  in 
'  my  opinion,  that  his  money  should  be  applied  to  the  promotion  of  any 
'  specific  branch  of  knowledge,  much  less  to  the  formation  of  a  school 
(  or  academy.  His  views  were  more  extensive.  He  wished  to  promote 
'  science  in  all  its  branches  and  departments,  and  therefore  he  wished 
1  his  institution  to  be  fixed  at  the  seat  of  Government ;  from  whence,  as 
'  from  a  centre,  the  rays  of  science  might  be  diffused  throughout  the 
'  whole  country.  And,  therefore,  Congress  cannot  find  a  better  oppor- 
1  tunity  to  execute  the  will  of  that  beneficent  testator  than  by  laying 
'  hold  of  your  institution  and  making  it  its  own." 


Mr.  Duponceau  again  writes  to  Mr.  Markoe  on  the  same  subject 
under  date  of  April,  1842,  urging  the  same  point  as  in  the  foregoing  in 
the  following  manner  :  "  I  find  from  Mr.  Rush's  letter,  which  you  have 
'  communicated  to  me,  that  I  was  not  the  only  one  to  whom  that  sug- 
'  gestion  occurred."  (The  idea  of  applying  the  Smithsonian  Bequest  to 
the  National  Institute.)  "  Since  that  time,  it  appears  to  have  struck 
'  the  mind  of  many  of  the  most  respectable  friends  of  science,  and  it 
i  appears  to  have  agreed  with  the  opinion  expressed  by  your  distin- 
<  guished  President,  Mr.  Poinsett,  in  his  inaugural  address.  I  see  with 

*  pleasure  that  Mr.  Rush  entertains  the  same  opinion.    No  one  has  had 
'  a  better  opportunity  to  know  the  real  intentions  of  the  testator ;  and  his 
'  opinion  on  that  and  many  other  accounts  is  entitled  to  the  greatest 
'  respect." 

I  need  scarcely  observe  that  the  opinions  of  men  so  distinguished  as 
Messrs.  Poinsett,  Rush,  and  Duponceau,  not  only  in  the  political,  but 
in  the  scientific  meaning  of  the  word,  should  be  respectfully  received 
and  well  considered.  When  persons  so  rich  in  experience  and  sound 
in  judgment  develope  their  views  on  matters  with  which  they  are  fa- 
miliar, they  should  have  due  weight  with  every  reflecting  and  intelligent 
mind. 

The  Hon.  W.  C.  Preston,  so  justly  celebrated  as  a  statesman,  a 
scholar,  and  an  orator,  in  his  letter  of  April,  1843,  to  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  National  Institute,  expresses  his  opinion  in  the  matter 
as  follows :  "  Our  Government  is  peculiarly  incapable  of  a  proper  su- 
'  perintendence  of  scientific  institutions.  In  the  first  place,  it  may  be 

*  said,  that  it  has  no  constitutional  power ;  and,  if  it  had,  the  tenure  of 

*  office  is  so  liable  to  change  that  in  a  department  so  removed  from 
'  interests  of  intense  excitement,  negligence  and  decay  would  soon 

*  creep  in."     Thus  indicating,  by  implication,  an  institution  like  that 
of  which  he  is  so  useful  and  prized  a  member  as  the  proper  agent  for 
the  superintendence  of  the  Smithsonian  Fund. 

Our  public  spirited  and  able  ex- Charge  d'Affaires  at  Brussels,  Virgil 
Maxcy,  Esq.,  uses  this  strong  and  well- expressed  language  in  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Markoe,  dated  in  that  city  December  29,  1840.  I  consider  that 
letter  so  interesting  and  well- written  that  I  flatter  myself  my  readers 
will  pardon  me  for  quoting  it  entire :  "  It  affords  me  the  highest  grati- 

*  fication  as  an  American  citizen,  and  as  the  representative  of  our  Re- 
'  public  to  a  foreign  country,  to  learn  that  the  National  Institution, 
'  recently  founded  at  Washington,  has  been  so  favorably  received  by 


29 

(  our  men  of  science ;  and  I  cannot  but  indulge  a  hope  that  the  public 
'  generally  will  lend  it  a  generous  confidence  and  cordial  co-operation 
1  and  thus  supply  what  has  long  been  to  us,  who  occupy  so  high  a  rank 
'  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  no  little  reproach ;  the  want  of  some  so- 
'  ciety  or  institution  which  may -compare  with  those  of  other  nations, 
and  sustain  the  reputation  of  our  Republic  in  the  great  cause  of  scien- 
tific investigation,  in  which  no  country  can  feel  a  deeper  and  more 
abiding  interest  than  our  own,  as  every  day  discloses  some  new  fact 
illustrative  of  the  extraordinary  skill,  energy,  and  ingenuity  of  our 
citizens — qualities  in  which  they  are  equalled  by  few  and  surpassed 
by  no  other  people.     If  such  be  the  case  in  our  not  very  advanced 
state  of  science,  what  important  results  might  not  be  anticipated  with 
more  extensive  practical  experiment  and  greater  knowledge  of  abstract 
science,  and  the  collection  and  diffusion  of  minute  economical  in- 
formation in  connexion  with  the  useful  arts  ?" 

But  the  following  and  concluding  part  of  the  letter  refers  directly  to 
the  point  under  discussion,  and  deserves  much  respect  and  weight  as 
the  expression  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  an  intelligent  and  liberal  public 
man.  He  continues :  "  While  indulging  in  the  patriotic  sentiments, 
'  which  I  believe  are  common  to  us  all,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  per- 

*  haps  no  better  disposition  could  be  made  of  the  munificent  bequest 

*  to  the  United  States  by  an  enlightened  foreigner  for  the  establishment 
1  of  an  institution  at  Washington  for  the  f  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
'  men'  than  to  place  it  under  the  direction  of  a  society  which  has  been 

*  organized  for  the   express  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  similar, 
'  and  indeed  I  may  add,  identical  views  with  those  contemplated  by  the 
'  philanthropical  and  philosophical  testator.    One  among  many  reasons 
'.  that  might  be  urged  for  this  arrangement  would  be  the  securing  in  it3 

*  favor  the  general,  and,  perhaps,  universal  influence  of  scientific  men, 
'  whose  patriotic  labors  would  thus  be  brought  into  active  co-operation 

*  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  whose  funds  would  enable  the  So- 
'  ciety  to  collect  and  diffuse  throughout  the  United  States  a  vast  amount 
'  of  diversified  and  valuable  information." 

Although  the  opinions  and  arguments,  of  which  I  have  given  select 
fragments  in  the  foregoing  lines,  would  seem  to  render  any  further  ob- 
servation on  my  part  almost  an  act  of  supererogation,  yet  such  is  the 
deep  interest  I  feel  in  the  subject,  and  so  strong  rny  conviction  that  the 
speedy  and  faithful  performance  of  the  trust  created  under  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest,  and  the  confiding  of  the  same  to  the  partial  control  of 


80 

the  National  Institute,  are  matters  of  great  moment  for  the  public  at 
large,  that  I  cannot  resist  the  inclination  which  urges  me  to  the  task, 
and  cheers  me  with  the  hope  that  I  may  do  some  little  good.  I  had 
hoped  to  have  been  able  to  enter  upon  the  discussion  in  this  number ; 
but  having  been  induced  by  their  cogency  and  merit  to  quote  more  of 
the  opinions  and  reasoning  of  the  distinguished  men  with  whom  I  am 
proud  to  agree  than  I  had  first  intended,  I  find  that  the  limits  which  I 
have  prescribed  for  the  length  of  these  hasty  essays  will  prevent  me 
from  doing  so  at  present.  In  my  next  I  will,  therefore,  continue  the 
discussion,  with  a  statement  of  my  own  views  on  the  subject. 

I  may  be  allowed  to  state,  in  conclusion,  as  connected  with  the  ques- 
tion, that  a  friend  in  this  city  has  informed  me  that  Mr.  Rush  has  been 
so  good  as  to  approve  of  the  object  and  spirit  of  these  letters,  and  to 
express  his  warm  hope  that  Congress  will  act  efficiently  in  the  matter 
of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest  this  session,  and  connect  it,  as  proposed  by 
him  already,  with  the  National  Institute.  May  his  views  and  aspira- 
tions be  soon  gratified  and  secured  ! 

Yours,  respectfully, 

J.  C.  B. 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  BEQUEST. 

LETTJSB  No.  VII. 

WASHINGTON,  January  20,  1844. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  flatter  myself  that  the  distinguished  witnesses  I  have 
called  before  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion  in  my  preceding  numbers 
will  be  deemed  more  than  sufficient  to  prove  that  it  was  the  pride  and 
policy  of  several  of  our  most  venerated  Presidents  to  inculcate  and  fos- 
ter education  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  ;  that  many  of  our  most 
prominent  and  patriotic  statesmen  and  scholars  attach  great  importance 
to  the  subject  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  and  several  of  them  desire 
its  union  with  the  National  Institute,  under  certain  conditions ;  and  that 
they  all  agree  in  the  opinion  that  the  neglect  on  the  part  of  this  Go- 
vernment to  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  trust  in  question  is  a  great 
public  wrong,  and  disreputable  to  the  country  at  large.  The  following 
extract,  from  a  recent  public  journal,  may  be  adduced  as  additional 
proof,  if  proof  be  needed,  to  show  how  much  injury  a  similar  neglect, 
or  rather  malfeasance  in  a  city  corporation,  is  working  in  the  community. 
It  is  termed  "  A  consequence  of  violating  Guard's  will.  Francis  S, 


31 

*  Rowan  died  at  Pittsburg  on  Monday  last.    He  left  by  will  a  large  sum 
* — some  say  $80,000 — for  endowing  a  hospital  in  Paris,  a  bequest 

*  which  would  have  been  used  for  some  charitable  purpose  in  thiscoun- 
'  try,  had  not  Philadelphia  used  Girard's  trust  contrary  to  his  direction." 
Will  this  Government  continue  to  encourage  other  alienations  of  private 
beneficence  from  objects  of  charity  in  this  hemisphere,  by  neglecting 
any  longer  to  comply  with  their  solemnly  pledged  faith  ?     I  hope,  for 
the  honor  of  the  country,  that  it  will  not.     It  is  because  I  entertain  this 
hope,  that  I  have  ventured  upon  the  discussion  of  the  subject,  and  shall 
proceed,  in  brief  terms,  to  give  my  own  private  views  in  the  matter. 

The  intention  of  the  testator  being  "  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,"  by  the  foundation  of  an  institution  at  Wash- 
ington, it  seems  to  me  that  the  widest  latitude  of  interpretation  should 
be  applied  to  the  construction  of  the  will.  It  should  be  the  study  of 
those  who  are  called  upon  to  establish  that  construction  and  to  carry  the 
objects  of  the  bequest  into  execution,  to  indulge  in  the  most  enlarged 
and  enlightened  views,  consistent  with  the  practical  benefit  we  all  desire 
that  it  should  secure.  And  as  no  country,  in  proportion  to  its  means 
and  opportunities,  devotes  more  time  and  attention  to  primary  instruc- 
tion, so  as  to  render  the  people  fit,  in  some  degree,  for  the  high  privi- 
leges which,  as  American  citizens,  they  enjoy,  and  as  colleges  and  aca- 
demies are  established  and  well  encouraged  in  every  section  of  the  land, 
the  only  desideratum  we  stand  in  need  of  at  present  is  some  public  in- 
stitution similar  to  the  one  intended  by  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  where 
those  higher  branches,  which  neither  the  time,  opportunities,  minds,  nor 
dispositions  of  the  mass  will  allow  them  to  attend  to,  may  be  placed, 
on  the  most  liberal  and  economical  terms,  within  the  reach  of  those 
whose  tastes,  intellects,  or  ambition  would  induce  them  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  task.  The  best  way  to  effect  this  desirable  result  is  to  found 
public  lectures,  as  already  proposed  by  Messrs.  Adams,  Wayland,  Rush, 
&c.,  and  to  begin  the  instruction  where  it  is  finished  in  our  universities. 
These  lectures  should,  of  course,  embrace  all  the  higher  branches  of 
human  knowledge,  be  delivered  by  the  best  informed  men  the  country 
produces,  be  illustrated  by  proper  apparatus,  experiments,  and  drawings, 
and  open,  like  those  of  Paris  and  elsewhere  on  the  continent,  to  the 
public  without  charge  and  discrimination.  The  branches  proper  to  be 
taught  in  such  an  institution  are  so  well  and  fully  enumerated  by  the 
learned  gentlemen  from  whom  I  have  quoted  in  my  preceding  letters, 
that  I  shall  not  intrude  upon  the  time  of  my  readers  with  a  repetition. 


I  shall  confine  myself  to  some  few  points  which  I  deem  to  be  the  most 
important  and  proper  for  me  to  dwell  upon. 

It  being,  then,  my  opinion,  agreeing  to  a  considerable  extent  with  the 
opinions  of  Messrs.  Adams,  Rush,  Wayland,Duponceau,  Preston,  &c., 
that  the  more  general  and  the  more  public  the  oral  or  other  instruction 
proposed  to  be  so  delivered,  commencing  with  the  close  of  an  academic 
education,  can  be  made,  the  better  and  more  salutary  will  be  the  results, 
I  think  the  location  and  mode  of  construction  for  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution matters  well  worth  a  serious  discussion.  It  happens,  fortu- 
nately, that  an  extensive  and  well  adapted  space  of  open  ground,  called 
the  Mall,  stretching  from  the  base  of  the  Capitol  to  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  seems  to  invite  Congress  to  place  the  institution  there,  and  to 
improve  and  ornament  it  in  a  tasty  and  judicious  manner.  There  could 
be  no  fitter  position,  one  more  convenient  to  the  citizens  and  strangers, 
grounds  more  easily  put  into  a  state  of  improvement,  and  better  calcu- 
lated to  ornament  this  metropolis,  and  make  it  worthy  of  being  the 
headquarters  of  learning,  as  well  as  Government,  for  these  free  and  grow- 
ing States.  The  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  the  lecturers  and 
their  hearers,  whilst  neat  and  ornamental,  should  be  erected  with  a  due 
regard  to  economy,  because  the  fund  is  comparatively  a  small  one,  and 
it  is  much  more  important  to  secure  men  of  talent  as  professors,  and  to 
devote  more  money  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  by  their  means,  than 
to  raise  imposing  edifices  or  stately  monuments  of  architecture.  If  re- 
fined taste  is  to  be  exerted,  which  I  most  sincerely  hope  may  be  the  case, 
let  it  be  exhibited  in  the  adaptation  of  the  structures  to  the  uses  for  which 
they  may  be  intended,  and  in  the  preparation  and  arrangement  of  the 
grounds.  Let  the  fund  be  used  sparingly  and  judiciously,  but  by  no 
means  in  a  spirit  of  false  economy,  which  is  so  much  the  fashion  of  the 
day.  And,  my  word  for  it,  if  proper  professors  be  selected,  fit  instru- 
ments and  apparatus  be  procured,  appropriate  rooms  be  erected,  and 
political  favoritism  be  banished,  as  an  unclean  thing,  from  the  sacred 
precincts  of  our  great  University — if  an  intelligent  man  be  appointed  to 
lay  out  the  Mall,  with  an  eye  to  the  union  of  the  English  Park  and 
Continental  garden  styles  in  the  arrangement  of  the  grounds,  and  com- 
petent and  attentive  gardeners  be  placed  over  them  when  finished,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  keep  them  in  good  order,  my  word  for  it,  I  say,  that 
this  country  will  have  cause  to  bless  the  day  when  the  philanthropic 
Smithson  entrusted  the  execution  of  his  wishes  to  a  Government  which 
must  not,  cannot  prove  recreant  to  the  trust.  Every  one  who  has  stood 


33 

upon  the  terrace  of  the  Capitol,  and  gazed  upon  the  wide  and  imposing 
landscape  before  his  eyes,  must  have  grieved  that  such  a  fine  tract  of 
land  as  that  embraced  within  the  public  reservation  called  the  Mall, 
should  remain  so  long  unattended  to,  an  eyesore  and  a  standing  re- 
proach to  the  good  sense  and  taste  of  the  nation.  To  do  away  with  this 
reproach,  and  in  order  to  persuade  Congress  that  now  is  the  time  to  aid 
in  extending  the  usefulness  and  efficacy  of  the  Smithsonian  Fund,  do  I 
propose  that  at  the  same  moment  when  an  action  is  had  by  them  upon 
that  subject,  an  adequate  sum  shall  also  be  appropriated  for  the  improve- 
ment and  ornament  of  that  reservation,  so  that  the  buildings  of  the 
University,  proposed  by  said  bequest,  may  be  surrounded  by  grounds 
worthy  of  the  nation  and  of  the  great  institution  they  are  called  upon 
to  establish.  It  being  public  property,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
nation,  there  can  certainly  be  no  constitutional  scruples  on  that  score, 
nor  any  impolicy  or  impropriety  in  voting  the  necessary  funds.  The 
Mall  is  so  well  prepared  already  for  the  purpose,  its  level  surface  requir- 
ing but  little  graduation  or  excavation,  and  the  cost  attendant  upon  the 
planting  of  trees  in  avenues,  as  in  the  London  parks,  the  construction 
of  roads  and  paths  for  equestrians  and  pedestrians,  and  a  good  and  suf- 
ficient enclosure,  so  insignificant,  that  I  am  sure  the  public  would  be 
greatly  surprised  upon  discovering  with  what  little  pains,  time,  and  ex- 
pense the  result  could  be  effected.  When,  therefore,  spacious  and  level 
avenues  and  walks  are  made,  shaded  by  fine  and  spreading  trees,  the 
greensward  well  fashioned,  and  the  desolate  spot  converted  into  a  smiling 
and  verdant  garden,  what  prouder  monuments  could  we  desire  to  be 
placed  there  than  the  well-constructed  and  well-regulated  institution  of 
the  philanthropic  testator,  and  the  monumental  tribute  which  several  of 
our  public-spirited  citizens,  who  have  united  together  under  the  name 
of  "  The  Washington  Monument  Society,"  wish  to  erect  to  the  memory 
of  the  "  Pater  Patriai"  in  the  metropolis  of  the  country  which  owes 
him  so  much?  I  would  therefore  suggest,  that  the  gentlemen  who  have 
the  honor  of  initiating  the  patriotic  project  of  erecting  a  monument  to 
that  great  and  good  man,  should  apply  again,  not  discouraged  by  the 
rude  and  unmerited  reception  they  met  with  some  few  years  back,  to 
Congress  for  a  spot  on  the  Mall  for  that  purpose.  The  money  which 
they  have  collected,  about  $40,000,  will  be  sufficient  for  the  erection  of 
a  handsome  monument ;  and,  as  they  must  have  abandoned  before  this 
all  idea  of  making  further  collections,  I  think  it  the  duty  of  the  board 
to  make  all  due  efforts  to  carry  the  original  intention  into  execution,  ac- 
cording to  their  present  means.  I  need  hardly  dilute  upon  the  imme- 
diate advantages  for  this  city  and  District  if  a  plan  similar  to  the  one  of 
5 


34 

which  I  have  given  the  outlines  thus  briefly  be  carried  into  effect.  1 
trust  that  the  people  at  large  will  be  equally  convinced,  that  the  national 
honor  and  advantage  will  be  thereby  most  signally  consulted ;  for  I 
consider  this  District  as  belonging  to  the  whole  nation,  and  as  having 
peculiar  claims  on  the  generosity  and  kindness  of  Congress,  and  that 
every  thing  done  for  our  benefit,  in  a  public  point  of  view,  redounds  to 
the  credit,  if  not  positive  benefit,  of  the  whole  Republic. 

By  the  establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  laying  out 
and  improvement  of  the  Mall,  and  the  permission  for  the  National 
Monument  Society  to  errect  a  handsome  structure  to  the  memory  of 
Washington  within  its  precincts,  in  conjunction  with  the  salutary  ope- 
ration of  the  National  Institute,  upon  science,  belles-lettres,  and  the  fine 
arts,  and  of  the  two  Observatories,  now  in  the  course  of  construction  in 
this  District,  on  astronomical  research,  it  must  strike  the  most  obtuse 
mind,  that  benefits  of  a  rare  nature  must  flow  upon  the  community, 
and  make  this  too-much  neglected  city  a  fit  residence  for  our  Govern- 
ment, an  ennobled  place  of  sojourn  for  the  National  Legislature,  and  a 
source  of  honest  pride  to  every  true  lover  of  his  native  land.  It  is  not 
my  province,  nor  do  my  limits  allow  me  to  enter  upon  minute  details 
on  the  subject.  My  desire  and  intention  is  simply  to  attract  public  at- 
tention to  a  matter  which  I  deem  to  be  pregnant  with  much  good  for 
the  country,  and  in  serving  my  native  city,  to  reflect  the  credit  and  ad- 
vantage throughout  the  breadth  and  length  of  the  land.  I  leave  to 
others  better  fitted  for  the  task  to  demand  a  due  share  of  notice  for  the 
exact  sciences  in  the  establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest.  For, 
although  no  one  is  more  alive  than  myself  to  the  necessity  and  benefit 
of  devoting  much  time  to  severe  studies,  yet,  inasmuch  as  science  has 
abundant  champions  already,  who  must  be  heard  sooner  or  later,  I  shall, 
to  avoid  repetition,  dwell  more  particularly  upon  the  wisdom  and  expe- 
diency of  giving  also  a  due  share  of  notice  to  the  Fine  Arts,  which  I 
deem  to  be  clearly  embraced  in  the  expression  of  Smithson's  will,  "  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  If  it  be  true,  as  it 
is  most  undoubtedly,  that  the  nature  of  the  Fine  Arts  is  to  refine  the  taste, 
improve  the  head  and  heart,  and  to  render  man  more  polished  and  hu- 
mane, I  suppose  that  no  one  will  be  so  bold  or  silly  as  to  assert,  that 
this  branch  of  human  knowledge  should  be  excluded  from  the  benefit 
of  the  fund  in  question,  or  from  any  institution  which  pretends  to  in- 
struct and  benefit  mankind.  Without  wasting  words,  however,  upon  a 
point  which  few  or  none  will  be  found  to  contest,  I  would  suggest,  that 


35 

among  the  apartments  constructed  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Uni- 
versity, a  large,  properly  built,  and  handsome  hall  shall  be  appropriated, 
on  a  plan  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  Apollo  Association  of  New 
York,  or  of  the  "Exposition"  which  takes  place  annually  in  the  gal- 
leries of  the  Louvre  at  Paris,  to  the  collection  and  exhibition  of  the 
works  of  native  and  foreign  artists  in  paintings,  sculpture,  and  engrav- 
ings. Situated  as  this  city  is,  within  comparatively  easy  journeys  from 
every  section  of  the  country,  and  a  place  where  the  talent,  riches,  fash- 
ion, and  merit  of  the  land  yearly  congregate,  and  which  few  or  no  for- 
eign travellers  pass  by  without  a  visit,  it  seems  tome  that  no  more  suitable 
rendezvous  could  be  named  for  genius  and  ambition  to  select  as  the  field 
of  their  operations.  In  the  furtherance  of  this  laudable  undertaking,  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  the  sister  establishment,  the  National  Institute,  will 
not  be  found  wanting.  It  can  akl  very  materially  in  the  good  work, 
without  withdrawing  any  of  its  attention  from  science  or  education,  and 
particularly  if  there  be  the  proposed  union  between  it  and  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

I  shall  continue  the  discussion  of  this  subject  in  my  next,  and  until 
then,  I  am  yours,  respectfully, 

J.  C.  B. 

WASHINGTON,  January  20,  1844. 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  BEQUEST. 
LETTER  No.  VIII. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  concluding  part  of  my  last  communication  was 
devoted  to  the  suggestion  of  some  plan  that  might  secure  for  the  fine 
arts  a  portion  of  that  attention  and  encouragement  which  every  civilized 
nation  ought  to  feel  proud  to  have  it  in  its  power  to  bestow.  I  flatter 
myself  that  the  plan  so  suggested  will  be  found  efficient  and  economi- 
cal, and  well  suited  to  enable  the  artists  of  this  and  other  countries  to 
bring  their  works  before  the  public,  and  thus  disseminate  the  principles 
of  taste  among  the  people. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  the  Hon.  JOSEPH  R.  INGER- 
SOLL,  of  Philadelphia,  dated  December  13,  1841,  and  addressed  to  the 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  National  Institute,  will  give  my  readers 
some  idea  of  the  opinions  of  that  distinguished  gentleman  on  the  sub- 
ject. Recommending  to  the  Institute  the  establishment  of  a  Depart- 
ment of  Taste  and  the  Fine  Arts,  he  says : 


"  At  the  same  time  that  science  is  effectually  promoted,  it  is  confi- 
'  clently  believed  that  principles  may  be  cultivated  and  diffused  which 
'  will  refine,  liberalize,  and  give  grace  to  public  sentiment,  and  make 
1  our  country  no  longer  dependent  upon  the  schools  of  foreign  nations 
'  for  the  instruction  of  her  gifted  sons  in  the  elements  of  those  elegant 
1  accomplishments  in  which,  when  their  tastes  are  cultivated,  they  are  so 
*  able  to  excel." 

The  erection  of  a  hall  or  gallery  connected  with  the  buildings  of  the 
Smithsonian  Bequest,  wherein  may  be  deposited  for  exhibition  the  works 
of  painters,  sculptors,  architects,  and  engravers,  leaving  a  part  for  the 
use  of  a  permanent  exposition  of  such  as  this  Government  or  individ- 
uals, from  time  to  time,  may  be  induced  to  purchase,  will  be  the  very 
best  means,  in  my  opinion,  to  produce  the  desirable  results  alluded  to 
by  the  liberal  writer  from  whom  I  have  just  quoted. 

I  would,  therefore,  respectfully  propose  that  the  gallery  in  question 
be  composed  of  two  grand  divisions.  The  first  to  be  divided  into  four 
departments  :  No.  1,  for  oil  paintings  ;  No.  2,  water  colors  ;  No.  3,  en- 
gravings ;  and  No.  4,  sculpture  and  architecture.  Let  this  first  grand 
division  be  devoted  exclusively  to  living  artists,  native  and  foreign.  A 
standing  committee  should  be  appointed  by  Congress,  (its  members  to  be 
selected  from  persons  best  fitted  to  the  task,)  who  shall  decide  whether 
the  pieces  sent  to  the  gallery  for  exhibition  are  to  be  received  or  rejected. 
The  works  so  exhibited  to  have  the  names  of  the  respective  artists  at- 
tached, with  their  prices,  and  the  public  to  be  allowed  full  privilege  to 
purchase  at  will. 

We  shall  thus  establish  an  annual  exhibition  of  the  productions  of 
native  and  foreign  genius  at  the  metropolis  of  this  Republic,  enlarging 
its  influence,  increasing  its  attractions,  adding  to  its  reputation  as  the  head- 
quarters of  science,  literature,  and  the  fine  arts,  and  giving  a  salutary 
impetus  to  the  public  taste  throughout  the  country. 

The  second  grand  division  should  be  appropriated  to  the  exhibition  of 
such  works  of  the  old  masters,  in  painting  or  sculpture,  as  may  come 
into  the  possession  of  Government  or  individuals,  either  as  presents  or 
purchases ;  and  artists  should  be  allowed  to  study  and  copy  freely  those 
models,  as  in  the  European  galleries. 

It  happens  most  fortunately  that  a  gentleman  of  taste  and  leisure  has 
made  a  valuable  collection  of  old  paintings  in  Europe,  and  has  brought 
them  on  to  this  city  for  exhibition.  I  understand  that  this  collection  is 
offered  to  the  Government  for  a  very  moderate  price  by  the  proprietor. 


37 

Many  of  your  readers  have  had  an  opportunity  of  judging  for  them- 
selves of  the  merits  of  those  paintings.  Having  visited  several  of  the 
best  European  galleries  myself,  and  studied  some  of  their  best  pieces,  I 
may  be  allowed  to  observe,  that  I  consider  several  of  the  collection  as 
works  of  rare  merit,  and,  if  not  actual  originals,  at  least  most  excellent 
copies.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  Government  will  not  lose  this  occa- 
sion of  procuring,  at  a  price  far  below  their  real  value,  a  large  number 
of  paintings,  such  as  are  but  seldom  if  ever  seen  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  They  will  form  an  appropriate  nucleus  and  beginning  for  the 
great  Smithsonian  gallery,  and  should  not  be  allowed  to  be  lost  to  the 
public  by  passing  into  private  hands  under  the  sacrificing  and  desecrat- 
ing hammer  of  an  auctioneer. 

I  do  not  know  whether  any  of  your  readers  will  have  been  struck  with 
the  reflection  that,  although  this  city  is  regularly  visited  by  artists  and 
amateurs,  there  is  no  fit  place  for  the  exhibition  of  their  paintings.  The 
Rotundo  is  almost  completely  occupied  by  the  large  pieces  which  orna- 
ment its  walls,  and  by  the  empty  panels  which  await  those  of  Inman 
and  Vanderlyn,  thus  leaving  but  a  very  small  space  indeed  for  the  ex- 
position of  any  others,  and  forcing  the  owners  to  place  them  on  the  floor, 
or  in  such  positions  as  to  prevent  amateurs  from  viewing  them  in  their 
best  lights,  and  thus  appreciating  their  beauties.  The  hall  of  the  Patent 
Office,  whither  I  am  told  the  collection  lately  exhibited  in  the  Rotunda 
has  been  transported,  is  too  much  crowded  with  the  cabinets  of  the  Ex- 
ploring Expedition  and  the  National  Institute,  and  receives  the  light  in 
too  imperfect  and  irregular  a  manner,  to  permit  it  to  be  considered  for  a 
moment  a  suitable  locale  for  a  public  exhibition  of  the  kind.  No  one 
will  presume,  I  imagine,  to  assert  that  any  one  of  the  Departments  is 
a  fit  place  for  such  exhibition.  So  that  the  expediency  and  necessity 
of  erecting  some  structure  suited  to  the  purpose  must  be  evident  to  every 
mind. 

But  let  us  suppose,  by  way  of  argument,  that  Congress  shall  not  see 
fit  to  devote  a  part  of  the  Smithsonian  buildings  to  a  hall  for  the  per- 
manent and  annual  exposition  of  works  of  art,  what  prevents  them 
from  adopting  some  other  mode  of  supplying  the  desideratum  I  deem 
so  desirable  and  important? 

I  would  suggest  that  an  appropriation  sufficient  for  the  purpose  be 
promptly  made  to  erect  a  proper  building  within  the  Capitol  grounds, 
where  that  masterpiece  of  American  skill,  Greenough's  WASHINGTON, 
and  the  long-expected  works  of  Persico,  whereof  report  speaks  in  flatter- 


38 

ing  terms,  shall  be  deposited,  and  protected  against,  the  severe  climate  of 
these  latitudes.  The  structure  should  be  built  upon  a  plan  best  adapted 
to  the  particular  objects  in  view,  and  sufficiently  capacious  to  afford 
room  for  a  public  exhibition  similar  to  the  one  I  have  proposed  for  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  If  my  suggestion  be  listened  to,  or  thought 
practicable,  by  those  whom  it  concerns,  we  shall  then  possess  in  our 
midst  a  great  public  temple  of  the  fine  arts,  devoted  to  their  encourage- 
ment, by  the  purchase  of  paintings  and  sculpture  commemorative  of  our 
Revolutionary  and  subsequent  history,  and  the  reproduction  upon  can- 
vass of  the  features  of  our  own  varied  and  picturesque  land.  Already 
a  respectable  sum  of  money  has  been  voted,  and  part  of  the  same  paid 
over,  to  the  several  artists  for  the  perpetuation  of  scenes  connected  with 
the  early  history  of  this  Republic.  What,  then,  prevents  Congress 
from  continuing  this  praiseworthy  patronage  of  the  arts,  so  that  events 
still  more  interesting  to  this  generation,  if  possible,  shall  find  men  to 
give  them  "a  local  habitation  and  a  name?"  What  has  once  been 
done  may  be  done  again ;  and  shame  on  the  man  who  would  be  silly 
and  niggard  enough  to  raise  a  hue  and  cry  about  the  employment  of 
the  people's  money  on  works  of  taste  and  for  the  benefit  of  native 
talent,  when  not  an  hour  goes  by  but  thousands  are  wasted  upon 
"things  as  light  as  air,"  and  from  which  the  gulled  people  get  no  kind 
of  benefit  whatever.  We  do  not  ask  you  to  erect  a  costly  and  magnifi- 
cent structure,  but  simply  to  furnish  the  necessary  funds  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  modest  though  tasty  gallery,  which  may  prove  a  decent 
refuge  for  the  statue  of  the  Father  of  his  Country  and  the  works  of  Per- 
sico,  around  which  shall  be  grouped,  from  time  to  time,  the  busts  and 
statues  of  our  national  celebrities,  dead  and  living,  while  on  its  walls 
shall  be  suspended  the  productions  of  native  and  foreign  artists.  If 
Congress  only  take  this  subject  seriously  and  understandingly  in  hand, 
my  word  for  it,  plans  enough  will  be  presented  to  allow  them  abundant 
choice,  and  room  to  consult  a  wise  economy,  without  violating  the  rules 
of  taste.  But  do,  gentlemen,  at  all  events,  rescue  our  WASHINGTON 
from  his  present  ugly  and  unseemly  place  of  concealment,  if  you  wish 
to  claim  any  credit  for  good  sense  and  good  taste,  and  to  deserve  well 
of  the  Republic ! 

By  this  public  and  private  patronage  of  taste  and  genius,  the  so  oft- 
repeated  and  affecting  story  of  the  sufferings  of  their  devotees  will  be  at 
least  rendered  less  applicable  to  this  country.  Within  the  genial  atmos. 
phere  of  that  generous  encouragement,  worthy  successors  and  rivals  of 


39 

our  Allstons,  Coles,  Vanderlyns,  Doughtys,  Creenoughs,  and  Powers 
will  live  and  flourish,  and  the  melancholy  fate  of  many  a  Clevenger  be 
avoided,  by  a  proper  appreciation  of  his  merits  when  living,  and  not  by 
those  posthumous  tributes  which  reach  not  the  poor  artist  in  his  early 
grave.  That  gifted  son  of  the  West  has  gone  down  to  the  tomb,  with 
all  his  capacities  and  unsated  aspirations  about  him.  And  now,  alas ! 
too  late,  subscriptions  are  being  made  up  for  the  benefit  of  the  bereaved 
widow  and  her  children,  and  to  secure  for  his  own  country  the  creations 
of  his  magic  chisel.  I  wish  not  to  reflect  upon  the  acts  or  motives  of 
those  charitable  gentlemen,  nor  to  detract  one  iota  from  the  credit  which 
is  due  them  for  their  liberality;  but  I  want  this  instance  of  too  tardy 
justice  and  encouragement  to  prove  a  warning  to  the  community,  so 
that  another  case  of  similar  neglect  may  not  sit  upon  their  consciences. 
An  ounce  of  patronage  when  the  artist  is  alive,  or  endeavoring  to  live, 
is  worth  a  pound  of  such  as  poor  Clevenger  encountered,  and  it  is  too 
much  the  fashion  of  the  day  to  apply  when  the  broken-hearted  and 
starved  son  of  genius  has  gone  "  to  that  bourne  from  whence  no  traveller 
returns." 

I  know  that  we  are  yet  a  young  people,  intent  on  providing  for  our 
animal  wants  and  propensities ;  that  the  time  for  general  refinement  is 
not  yet  arrived ;  and  that  individual  fortunes  are  too  small  and  uncertain 
in  their  tenure  to  allow  much  individual  patronage  of  belles-lettres  and 
the  fine  arts.  I  know  that  in  the  roar  and  explosion  of  political  excite- 
ment, the  mercenary  struggles  for  place,  and  President  making,  it  is 
difficult  to  be  heard  on  any  other  subject,  and  harder  still  to  produce 
much  effect.  I  know  and  confess  all  these  things,  and  still  I  say,  if  ye  be 
wise  men,  men  possessed  of  hearts  and  minds,  men  capable  of  sympathy 
and  feeling,  loving  your  own  country  and  desiring  that  it  be  honored, 
spare  a  little  of  your  superfluous  time  and  means  to  the-  encouragement 
of  intellectual  pursuits.  Do  in  a  body  what  you  cannot  as  individu- 
als. Tell  your  Representatives  that  you  do  not  consider  money  so 
employed  as  thrown  away.  Tell  them  that  the  best  way  to  encourage 
patriotism  and  a  right  public  spirit  is  to  place  before  your  eyes  graphic 
scenes  of  great  national  events  and  statues  of  patriotic  men ;  that  no 
eloquence  of  language  or  description,  no  force  of  argument  and  example, 
speaks  more  directly  to  the  head  and  heart  than  the  creations  of  the 
artist  who  pours  upon  his  canvass  the  light  and  glory  of  his  genius, 
gives  existence  to  the  memory  of  departed  worth,  and  perpetuates  living 
merit  by  the  magic  touches  of  his  chisel. 


It  is  not  enthusiasm  alone  that  directs  my  pen,  or  causes  me  to  in- 
dulge in  dreams  almost  too  glorious  to  be  realized,  but  a  sober  and 
abiding  conviction  that  the  humble  efforts  I  am  now  making  to  direct 
the  stream  of  public  and  private  patronage  towards  the  parched  regions 
of  the  arts  will  not  be  made  in  vain.  Sooner  or  later  fruit  will  be  pro- 
duced. Reforms  and  revolutions  are  not  the  creatures  of  a  day,  nor 
great  undertakings  to  be  earned  out  without  great  patience,  strong  en- 
thusiasm, and  an  ardent  conviction  of  the  justice  of  one's  cause.  If  it 
be  my  good  luck  to  assist,  however  slightly,  in  bringing  about  the  desired 
results,  I  shall  be  indeed  most  happy,  and  shall  feel  that  I  have  not 
lived  in  vain. 

I  shall,  gentlemen,  after  having  devoted  some  hasty  remarks  as  to  the 
expediency  of  embracing  practical  agriculture  and  gardening  within  the 
scope  of  the  Smithsonian  Fund,  return  in  my  next  to  the  subject  of  the 
National  Institute,  from  which  I  have  been  forced  to  wander  so  long 
and  unwillingly. 

Yours,  truly,  J.  C.  B. 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  BEQUEST. 
LETTER  No.  IX. 

WASHINGTON,  February  4,  1844. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS  :  My  last  letter  was  devoted  to  the  subject  of  the 
Fine  Ails,  and  to  the  suggestion  of  a  plan  for  embracing  their  encourage- 
ment within  the  scope  of  the  Smithsonian  Fund,  by  the  erection  of  a 
public  gallery  within  the  mall,  forming  a  portion  of  the  Smithsonian 
buildings,  for  the  exhibition  of  paintings,  statues,  engravings,  and  archi- 
tectural works.  I  also  proposed  a  substitute,  in  case  such  plan  should 
not  be  deemed  practicable  or  suited  to  the  purpose;  that  is,  the  building 
of  a  National  Temple  in  the  Capitol  grounds,  where  the  statue  of 
Washington  by  Greenough  might  be  placed,  after  having  been  rescued 
from  its  present  ignoble  hiding  box,  as  also  the  statuary  of  Persicc, 
which  are  now  nearly  ready  for  delivery,  to  be  surrounded  by  the  pro- 
ductions of  native  and  foreign  artists  in  every  branch  of  that  profession. 
I  sincerely  trust  that  this  appeal  may  not  be  made  in  vain,  and  that 
Congress  and  the  people  may  spare  a  little  time  in  order  to  turn  their 
attention  to  a  subject  which  1  deem  highly  important  and  interesting. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  discussion  of  the  propriety  of  embracing  also 
within  the  operation  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest  the  branch  of  practical 


agriculture,  I  deem  it  well  to  notice  an  informal  meeting  of  several 
members  of  the  National  Institute  held  on  last  Monday  evening,  the 
object  of  their  proceedings  being  matter  of  public  interest,  at  which  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  being  present.  The  readers  of  your  columns  will 
probably  remember  that  on  the  23d  of  last  month  there  was  a  large 
meeting  at  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  for  the  purpose  of  laying 
before  Congress  and  the  public  a  statement  of  the  present  condition  of 
the  National  Institute,  its  operations,  wants,  and  claims,  arid  of  making 
a  strong  appeal  in  its  behalf  for  public  patronage,  aid,  and  support. 
The  subject,  also,  of  the  proposed  general  meeting,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Institute,  of  scientific  and  literary  men  in  this  city  next  April  was 
also  discussed,  and  the  committee,  already  created  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  necessary  arrangements  for  that  interesting  occasion,  instructed 
to  take  prompt  and  efficient  steps  to  that  effect.  The  meeting  of  Monday 
last  was  therefore  simply  a  reunion  of  that  committee,  with  the  addition 
of  several  other  gentlemen,  members  of  the  Institute.  The  Hon.  John 
Q,uincy  Adams  took  the  chair;  and,  after  some  brief  but  interesting  re- 
marks from  that  venerable  gentleman,  who  is  ever  active  when  the 
march  of  mind  is  in  question,  we  were  favored  with  several  reflections 
and  suggestions  by  the  Hon.  Messrs.  Choate,  Spencer,  and  J.  R.  Inger- 
soll,  and  Colonels  Abert  and  Totten,  on  the  subject  of  those  arrange- 
ments. I  have,  therefore,  the  pleasure  to  inform  the  public  that  there 
is  every  probability  a  large  and  respectable  gathering  of  learned  and  in- 
genious men  will  take  place  in  this  city  in  the  month  already  mention- 
ed, and  that  the  discourses,  lectures,  and  proceedings  on  that  occasion 
will  prove  of  general  interest  throughout  the  country.  I  need  scarcely 
dwell  upon  the  good  effects  which  must  ensue  from  this  communion  of 
minds,  and  reunion  of  public  spirited  citizens  for  such  good  and  salu- 
tary objects.  I  need  scarcely  observe  how  much  it  is  to  be  desired  that 
those  who  devote  themselves  to  intellectual  pursuits  should  become  ac- 
quainted with  each  other,  and  compare  notes,  so  that,  from  this  mental 
friction,  light  may  be  struck  for  the  benefit  of  the  Republic,  and  a  spirit 
of  honorable  emulation  be  aroused  and  encouraged.  The  citizens  of 
this  District,  members  of  Congress,  and  those  who  are  sojourners 
amongst  us,  or  transient  visitors  ought  to  feel  much  gratified  at  the  an- 
nouncement of  this  proposed  scientific  reunion.  There  is  no  place  in 
this  country  which  affords  greater  advantages,  in  proportion  to  its  size, 
for  men  such  as  those  who  are  especially  invited  to  attend — no  city 
where  a  week  or  so  can  be  spent  with  more  pleasure  and  profit  than 
6 


ours.  That  it  is  the  interest,  in  every  point  of  view,  of  our  citizens  to 
encourage  and  facilitate  this  meeting,  by  theii  immediate  countenance 
and  support  and  hospitality  towards  these  visitors,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever.  And,  inasmuch  as  we  have  high  and  influential  names 
pledged  to  the  execution  of  the  project,  and  able  pens  enlisted  in  the 
cause,  there  is  every  reason  to  anticipate  a  favorable  issue,  not  as  having 
any  very  great  or  important  effect  upon  the  onward  march  of  mind,  but 
as  establishing  a  precedent,  and  beginning  in  a  course  which  I  trust 
will  not  be  abandoned  without  good  cause.  As  the  committee  appoint- 
ed at  the  meeting  of  December  last  for  the  purpose  of  memorializing 
Congress  and  appealing  to  the  public  in  behalf  of  the  National  Institute 
are  well  fitted  for  the  task,  and  their  appeal  will  be  published  in  due 
course  of  time,  I  shall  not  dwell  any  longer  on  the  subject  for  the  pres- 
ent, but  pass  on  to  my  other  points,  with  the  expression  of  a  hope  that 
Congress  will,  as  far  as  lies  in  its  power,  favor  and  encourage  the  pro- 
jected meeting  of  next  April ,  and  that  the  public  will  give  it  their  patron- 
age and  support. 

Upon  the  subject  of  embracing  practical  agriculture  within  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  I  find,  fortunately,  to  my  hand,  a  very 
interesting  and  valuable  memorial  of  Charles  Lewis  Fleischrnann,  of  this 
city,  in  which  he  urges  the  utility  and  importance  of  establishing  an 
agricultural  school  at  the  seat  of  Government  connected  with  the  above 
bequest.  My  readers,  who  may  wish  to  inform  themselves  about  the 
plan  of  that  gentleman  in  detail,  can  do  so  by  referring  to  Doc.  No.  70 
of  25th  Congress,  3d  session.  The  date  of  the  memorial  is  December 
8,  1838. 

The  memorialist  presented  a  plan  of  such  an  institution,  with  designs 
for  the  buildings  and  estimates  for  all  the  requisites,  and  concludes  with 
the  following  words:  "  Such  an  institution,  being  the  first  in  the  United 
'  States,  would  be  the  nursery  of  scientific  agriculturists  for  the  whole 
'  Union.  Their  education  should  be  as  perfect  as  possible,  to  enable 
'  them  to  qualify  themselves  to  serve  as  directors,  professors,  and  super- 
'  intendents  for  similar  establishments.  This  institution  is  calculated  for 
'  one  hundred  pupils,  and  the  number  should  be  increased,  by  degrees, 
'  from  the  profit  of  the  farm.  The  lectures  should  be  free,  and  the 
1  price  of  board  moderate,  as  half  of  the  number  of  the  pupils  should  be 
'  practically  employed  every  day  on  the  farm." 

There  is  no  intelligent  man  in  this  country  who  does  not  admit  the 
importance  of  agricultural  pursuits.  There  is  no  one  who  will  deny 


43 

that  the  farmers  of  this  country  are  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  land,  and 
(hat  the  agricultural  interests  and  iniluence  are  gaining  in  weight  and 
importance  with  the  onward  march  of  this  Republic.  Therefore  it  is 
essential  and  discreet  to  encourage  every  plan  that  affords  a  prospect  of 
improving  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  condition  of  the  cultivators. 
And  1  will  be  bold  enough  to  assert  that  the  plan  above  alluded  to,  of 
uniting  an  agricultural  institution  with  that  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest, 
is  admirably  calculated  to  produce  the  results  desired,  and  to  ameliorate 
and  render  more  comfortable  and  secure  the  condition  of  the  farmer 
and  planter. 

From  the  halls  of  this  agricultural  establishment  will  be  annually 
scattered  throughout  the  land  a  large  number  of  active,  industrious, 
and  well-educated  youths,  who  will,  in  their  turn,  disseminate  the 
results  of  their  studies,  industry,  and  experience  far  and  near, 
amongst  the  community  where  their  lots  shall  be  cast.  The  lights 
of  science  will  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  subject,  and  a  new  era 
will  dawn  for  American  agriculturists,  who  will  be  forced  to  im- 
prove their  minds  and  acquire  new  stores  of  knowledge,  in  order  to 
keep  pace  with  the  improvements  which  learned  and  practical  men 
are  constantly  inventing  and  introducing  into  use.  I  need  hardly 
insist  upon  the  immense  advantages  resulting  from  this  intellectu- 
alizing  a  piofession,  which  has  been  charged,  unjustly  in  most  in- 
stances, with  being  manual  and  mechanical,  beside  the  actual  and 
pecuniary  benefit  for  agriculturists,  by  teaching  them  how  to  grow 
better  and  more  productive  grains,  to  enrich  their  soil,  and  improve- 
their  stock  and  utensils,  which  must  necessarily  be  the  case  upon 
the  adoption  of  the  plan  of  Mr.  Fleischmann,  or  something  of  the 
kind. 

In  one  of  my  preceding  letters,  whilst  upon  the  subject  of  the 
improvement  of  the  Mall,  in  connexion  with  the  Smithsonian  Be- 
quest, I  suggested  that  a  choice  botanical  garden,  similar  to  that  of 
the  "  Jardin  des  Plantes  "  at  Paris,  should  be  established  and  placed 
under  competent  management.  Our  ministers,  consuls,  and  foreign 
agents,  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  should  be  directed  to  make 
collections  of  plants  and  seeds,  and  our  citizens  be  requested  to  do 
the  same,  for  the  use  of  that  garden,  and  the  Smithsonian  Fund  be 
held  ready  to  pay  for  their  purchase  and  cost  of  transportation,  &c, 
The  collection  of  plants,  &c.,  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  now 
within  the  grounds  of  the  Patent  Office,  should  be  joined  to  the 


44 

Smithsonian  botanical  garden  when  established,  and  the  public  be 
invited  to  send  specimens  to  the  same  at  the  cost  of  the  Institution. 
Thus  will  be  gradually  established  a  nursery  for  that  important 
branch  of  agriculture,  and  the  liberality  of  Government  and  indi- 
viduals redound  to  the  general  advantage  and  credit  of  the  country. 
I  would  suggest  that  this  Government  should  endeavor  to  purchase 
Mount  Vernon  as  a  model  farm  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  It 
is  within  a  convenient  distance  of  Washington,  is  capable  of  im- 
provement, and,  under  the  cultivation  of  the  pupils  of  the  agricul- 
tural school  in  this  city,  must  pay  for  itself  within  a  certain  time, 
and  will  afterwards,  most  probably,  meet  the  expenses  of  the  estab- 
lishment. The  consideration,  also,  that  the  Government  thus  be- 
comes proprietor  of  a  spot  hallowed  in  the  eyes  of  every  true  Amer- 
ican as  having  been  the  residence  of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  and 
will  have  it  in  its  power  to  open  to  the  public  a  place  now  neces- 
sarily closed  to  them,  in  a  great  measure,  by  its  being  private  prop- 
erty, ought  to  render  Congress  well  disposed  to  take  the  matter 
into  favorable  consideration,  and  the  community  at  large  anxious 
for -the  acquisition.  How  appropriate  is  it,  and  how  grateful  we 
may  fancy  it  will  be  to  the  spirit  of  that  great  man,  who  was  a  prac- 
tical tiller  of  the  earth,  that  the  land  by  him  cultivated  so  long 
should  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  public,  for  whose  good  he  ever 
labored,  and,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  bequest  of  the  phi- 
lanthrophic  Smithson,  that  that  branch  of  knowledge  and  source  of 
national  wealth  and  prosperity,  of  which,  when  living,  he  was  so 
devoted  a  follower  and  ornament,  may  be  yet  made  to  add  to  the 
honor,  if  possible,  which  has  immortalized  his  memory,  and  to  the 
advantage  of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  land. 

I  merely  throw  out  this  suggestion  as  one  which  may  have  some 
claim  to  a  serious  consideration;  and,  being  a  mere  tyro  myself  in 
the  subject  to  which  I  have  devoted  these  few  lines,  I  make  it  with 
all  due  diffidence  and  deference  to  the  opinions  of  others  better  in- 
formed than  I  am. 

I  trust,  however,  that  this  reference  to  the  memorial  in  question, 
and  the  few  reflections  which  I  have  hurriedly  indulged  in  on  this 
occasion,  may  induce  some  minds  to  think  upon  the  matter,  and 
aid  in  effecting  something,  in  the  way  thus  pointed  out,  for  the 
benefit  of  (he  agricultural  interests  of  this  country. 

Yours,  respectfully,  J.  C.  B. 


45 
THE  NATIONAL  INSTITUTE. 

LETTER  No.  X. 

HHfe   WASHINGTON,  February  10,  1844. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS  :  Those  of  your  readers  who  honor  my  lucubra- 
tions with  a  perusal,  by  reference  to  my  second  letter  will  find  that 
I  then  dwelt  briefly  upon  the  history  of  the  National  Institute,  and 
urged  its  claims  upon  public  notice  and  encouragement.  I  now 
return  to  the  subject,  and  shall  devote  the  present  number  to  a 
further  discussion  of  this  important  and  interesting  question. 

The  habitual  readers  of  your  columns  cannot  fail  being  struck 
with  the  frequent  and  often  very  able  and  instructive  articles  to 
which  you  give  admittance,  under  the  head  of  "  National  Institute 
Papers,"  containing  correspondence  from  every  section  of  the  globe, 
and  accompanying  valuable  and  interesting  donations  to  the  cabi- 
net of  the  association.  This  fact  speaks  for  itself.  It  proves  that 
its  members  are  active  in  the  march  of  improvement,  and  that  the 
Institute  is  proud  of  being  the  channel  through  which  so  much  in- 
formation is  given  to  the  public.  That  these  contributions  to 
knowledge  will  go  on  increasing,  with  the  increase  and  prosperity 
of  the  Institute,  cannot  be  doubted.  That  its  means  of  instruction 
and  usefulness  may  be  so  increased  and  enlarged  should  be  the 
wish  of  every  intelligent  citizen,  and  with  that  wish  should  be  ex- 
hibited an  active  co-operation  and  efficient  assistance,  in  the  cause 
of  science  and  human  knowledge,  of  which  the  Institute  now  stands 
so  much  in  need. 

Let  us  lend  an  ear  and  our  favorable  attention  to  the  strong  and 
eloquent  appeal  of  the  Hon.  JOSEPH  R.  INGERSOLL,  of  Philadelphia, 
who,  in  his  preamble  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Manage- 
ment of  the  National  Institute,  held  at  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  on  the  23d  December  of  the  last  year,  uses  the  following 
words:  "  A  monthly  record  of  contributions  reflects  honor  upon  the 
'  kindness  and  public  spirit  of  the  donors,  whose  numbers  are  daily 
'  increasing,  and  whose  good  will  knows  no  bounds.  But  the  proof 
'  of  their  taste  and  kind  feeling  are  imperfectly  provided  for,  and 
'  sometimes  altogether  neglected,  from  the  narrow  fortunes  of  the 
'  infant  establishment.  There  is  no  ascertained  place  of  permanent 
'  or  even  secure  deposite.  There  is  no  fund  from  which  supplies, 
'  in  any  degree  proportioned  to  daily  necessities,  can  be  derived.  A 


4  few  voluntary  contributors  to  a  precarious  and  inadequate  treasury 
«  have  furnished,  as  they  might  be  able,  a  portion  of  the  expenses 
4  which  are  required,  and  have  in  many  instances  received  into 
«  their  care,  for  the  moment,  objects  of  interest  which  could  not  be 

*  provided  for  elsewhere.     It  never  was  expected  that  a  national 

<  establishment  could  subsist  upon  individual  bounty  alone.     When 
4  it  shall  have  derived  dignity  and  confidence  from  the  permanent 
«  encouragement  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  it  may  well 
'  be  hoped   that  private  munificence  will  frequently  pour  out  its 

<  stores,  and  that  a  laudable  pride  will  be  felt  in  mingling  personal 
1  associations  and  favors  with  the  steady  support  contiibuted  by  the 
'  Government.     A  period  has  now  arrived  when  legislative  assist- 
'  ance  may  be  expected  without  arrogance,  and  sought  without  pre- 

*  sumption." 

It  thus  being  asserted  by  a  distinguished  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  that  the  present  is  the  fit  time  for  urging  the  claims 
of  the  National  Institute  before  Congress,  or,  in  his  own  words, 
*'  that  the  period  has  now  arrived  when  legislative  assistance  may 
be  expected  without  arrogance,  and  sought  without  presumption," 
I  may  be  allowed  to  suggest  a  way  for  that  desirable  action  to  be 
rendered  efficient,  and  to  express  the  hope  that  the  gentleman  him- 
self, from  whom  I  have  just  quoted,  may  be  induced  to  take  the 
matter  in  hand,  and  to  associate  his  name,  already  so  well  known 
and  respected,  with  an  enterprise  of  the  utmost  public  interest  and 
importance. 

I  find,  by  reference  to  the  8th  volume  of  the  Laws  of  the  United 
States,  that,  on  the  14th  July,  1832,  lots  to  the  value  of  $25,000, 
within  the  city  of  Washington,  were  voted  to  the  Columbian  Col- 
lege ;  that,  on  the  same  day,  lots  to  the  amount  of  $20,000  were 
appropriated,  in  equal  proportions,  to  the  two  charitable  institu- 
tions, Saint  Vincent's  Orphan  Asylum  and  the  Washington  City 
Orphan  Asylum  ;  and,  finally,  that  $25,000  worth  of  lots  were  also 
voted,  by  act  approved  2d  March,  1833,  to  Georgetown  College. 
Your  readers  who  may  wish  to  consult  these  acts,  will  find  those  of 
July,  1832,  in  vol.  8  of  said  laws,  pages  713,  714,  and  that  referring 
to  Georgetown  College,  same  volume,  page  832. 

Now,  I  take  it,  that  these  appropriations,  which  do  honor  to  the 
Congress  by  whom  they  were  passed,  were  so  voted  because  the 
establishments  receiving  the  said  bounty  were  devoted  to  the  diffu- 


47 

sion  of  knowledge  and  to  the  holy  cause  of  charity.  They  had  no 
other  claim  on  the  liberality  of  that  body,  than  the  deep  interest 
which  all  intelligent  and  humane  men  should  feel  in  such  matters. 
That  such  liberality,  when  humanity  and  the  cause  of  science  plead 
for  a  favorable  hearing,  will  ever  meet  with  the  approbation  of  the 
People,  when  they  are  made  aware  of  the  urgency  and  justice  of 
the  case,  I  feel  exceeding  sure.  Then,  why  should  not  Congress 
now,  when  an  appeal  is  made  to  them  in  behalf  of  an  institution 
which  claims  to  be  national,  and  therefore  embracing  the  whole 
country  within  its  scope  and  influence,  and  devotes  itself  exclu- 
sively to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  mankind,  imitate  the 
noble  example  thus  set  them  in  1832  and  '33,  and  place  at  the  dis- 
posal of  our  Institute  property  or  money  equal  at  least  to  the  amount 
voted  to  the  two  meritorious  colleges  above  mentioned  7  The  very 
same  reasons  that  prevailed  upon  their  predecessors,  and  even  still 
stronger  ones,  should  induce  the  members  now  legislating  in  the 
Capitol  to  behave  handsomely  in  the  present  emergency,  and,  by 
an  appropriate,  liberal,  and  timely  assistance,  rescue  the  infant  in- 
stitute from  its  actual  troubles  and  embarrassments.  If  it  was  con- 
stitutional, lawful,  and  expedient  to  vote  money,  or  its  equivalent, 
for  establishments  of  public  charity  and  education  in  1832,  it  is  cer- 
tainly equally  constitutional,  lawful,  and  expedient  to  do  so  in  1844. 
If  it  be  proper  and  wise  in  one  year  to  encourage  the  instructors  of 
our  youth,  it  is  certainly  equally  imperative,  if  not  more  so,  to  con- 
tinue that  encouragement  as  the  Republic  grows  older,  larger,  and 
more  able  to  contribute  to  an  undertaking  so  replete  with  public 
and  private  blessings. 

I  say,  then,  to  the  members  of  the  present  Congress,  that  the  pre- 
cedents thus  exhibited  in  support  of  the  claim  which  the  National 
Institute  is  about  to  make  officially,  and  I  trust  promptly,  for  assis- 
tance at  their  hands,  should  and  must  have  great  weight  in  their 
minds,  and  force  them,  as  it  were,  to  make  another  appropriation 
of  the  kind  for  the  benefit  of  an  association  thus  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  knowledge  and  improvement.  The  Institute  has  a  right 
to  claim  assistance,  and  will  be  satisfied,  I  suppose,  with  being 
placed  on  a  similar  footing  with  the  Georgetown  and  Columbian 
Colleges.  But,  as  the  public  property  within  the  precincts  of  the 
city  has  lost  much  of  its  value  since  the  time  of  said  grants,  it  is 
but  just  that  Congress  (if  persuaded  to  act  favorably  in  the  case) 


should  see  that  the  Institute  actually  receives  a  gum  equal  to  those 
received  by  the  before  mentioned  seminaries  of  education.  This 
assistance,  if  given  promptly,  will  be  sufficient  to  snatch  the  Insti- 
tute from  the  perils  and  difficulties  with  which  it  is  surrounded,  and 
give  it  the  means  and  spirit  to  go  on  with  accelerated  pace  in  the 
path  of  honor  and  usefulness.  It  thus  being  clearly  a  right  in  the 
National  Institute  to  have  the  same  justice  at  least  meted  out  to  it 
as  was  the  case  in  the  preceding  instances,  I  would  advise  the  gen- 
tlemen (if  the  idea  shall  not  have  already  presented  itself  to  their 
minds)  who  compose  the  committee  detailed  to  draught  a  memorial 
to  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  association  they  represent,  to  adopt 
these  acts  as  precedents  and  vouchers,  and  to  bring  the  matter  in 
the  proper  shape  strongly  and  warmly  before  our  National  Councils, 
thus  called  upon  to  assist  and  encourage  a  national  establishment. 

The  urgency  of  the  case — the  past  services  of  the  National  Insti- 
tute in  the  march  of  intellect — the  materials  collected  from  every 
quarter  of  the  globe  for  giving  additional  impulse  to  that  onward 
march  of  mind — the  numerous  influential,  well-informed,  and  scien- 
tific men  who  have  the  honor  of  calling  themselves  members,  and 
their  daily  contributions  to  the  stores  of  human  knowledge — and 
the  pressing  necessities  of  the  infant  establishment — all  these  con- 
siderations, which  will,  beyond  doubt,  be  feelingly  and  ably  urged 
in  the  forthcoming  memorial,  must,  it  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped,  pro- 
duce the  desired  effect  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  under 
whose  care  the  National  Treasury  is  placed,  and  convince  them 
that  justice,  policy,  humanity,  and  good  sense  all  unite  in  instruct- 
ing them  how  they  should  act  in  a  case  having  such  strong  and  irre- 
sistible claims  upon  their  kind  attention  and  liberality. 

I  have  the  honorable  member  from  Philadelphia  as  my  endorser 
when  I  state,  that  the  contributions  to  the  cabinets  of  the  National 
Institute  are  valuable  and  numerous;  that,  unfortunately,  there  is 
no  place  where  the  boxes  can  be  deposited,  or  their  contents  be  seen 
or  preserved;  so  that  rare  and  most  interesting  specimens  from  far- 
off  countries  are  actually  going  to  decay,  and  lie  hidden  in  out-of- 
the-way  corners  and  cellars,  for  want  of  the  adequate  means  to 
procure  a  fit  place  for  their  safe-keeping  and  exhibition.  I  have 
myself  received  the  assurances  of  gentlemen,  whose  word  cannot 
be  doubted,  and  who  have  personal  knowledge  in  the  matter,  that 
the  importance,  size,  number,  and  value  of  the  collections  now 


49 

scattered  about  at  the  Departments,  in  private  rooms,  garrets,  and 
cellars,  (and  all  belonging  to  the  National  Institute,)  would  astonish 
the  public  if  a  list  and  examination  could  be  made.  Is  it  not  then 
a  pity  that  all  these  treasures,  which  are  as  yet  for  the  most  part 
concealed  from  the  public  eye,  should  rot  away  in  unknown  places, 
whilst  the  collections  of  the  Exploring  Expedition  are  snugly 
stowed  in  proper  cases,  and  open  to  the  inspection  of  the  curious  ? 
If  Congress  hesitated  not  to  use  the  public  moneys  for  the  benefit  of 
an  expedition  which  was  in  a  great  degree  scientific,  and  the  re- 
sults of  which  I  doubt  not  will  be  of  general  interest  and  advan- 
tage, why  should  it  now  pause  when  an  institution,  whose  object  is 
also  scientific,  whose  collections  do  not  yield,  as  I  am  informed,  in 
value,  variety,  number,  and  interest  to  those  just  referred  to,  ap- 
plies to  it  for  assistance  and  for  the  means  of  preserving  those  col- 
lections from  destruction  ?  In  making  this  remark,  I  do  not  want 
to  be  understood  as  casting  any  reflection  upon  the  Exploring  Ex- 
pedition. I  am  well  disposed  to  believe  that  it  was  well  conducted, 
and  that  its  results  are  valuable.  I  merely  wish,  in  speaking  of  it 
in  conjunction  with  the  collections  of  the  National  Institute,  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  same  reason  which  induced  the  Government  to  give 
those  of  that  expedition  so  fit  a  place  for  exhibition,  ought,  to  a 
certain  degree,  to  induce  Congress  to  make  some  provision  for  the 
safe-keeping  of  the  cabinets  and  library  of  the  Institute,  which  are 
intended  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  nation  at  large.  Besides 
the  collections  formerly  deposited  at  the  different  Departments, 
consisting  of  presents  to  this  Government,  or  its  Ministers,  Secre- 
taries, or  foreign  agents,  from  other  Governments  or  Potentates, 
pictures,  treaties,  &c.,  have  been  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Na- 
tional Institute,  and  are  now  exhibited  in  the  hall  of  the  Patent 
Office,  devoted  principally  to  the  cabinets  of  the  Exploring  Expe- 
dition. Thus  a  union  has  been  established  between  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  the  Institute,  which  is  employed  as 
its  agent  and  trustee  to  the  above  extent.  It  seems  to  me,  there- 
fore, that,  in  addition  to  the  claims  which  that  society  has  upon 
Governmental  support  and  patronage,  based  upon  the  precedents 
before  alluded  to,  the  fact  of  this  trusteeship  and  the  services  so  ren- 
dered, should  put  it  upon  the  footing  of  an  actual  and  bona  fide 
possessor  of  a  vested  right  upon  the  liberality  and  justice  of  Con- 
gress. By  enabling  the  Institute,  in  the  manner  designated,  to  pre- 
7 


50 

serve  and  exhibit  its  cabinets  of  curiosities,  this  Government  will 
add  to  the  interest  which  attaches  to  the  collections  so  entrusted  to 
its  keeping,  and  make  it  the  interest  of  the  guardian  to  attend  to 
their  proper  exhibition  and  preservation.  I  know  that  a  small  sum 
of  money  was  appropriated  on  the  occasion  of  ihe  transfer  of  the 
articles  in  question,  but,  inasmuch  as  this  is  not  merely  a  subject 
for  the  discussion  of  positive  and  actual  vested  rights,  but  one  that 
appeals  to  public  sympathy  and  liberality,  I  trust  this  employment 
of  the  Institute  by  the  Government  may  be  considered  as  a  prece- 
dent to  show  that  there  are  honest  and  expedient  ways  of  meeting 
and  avoiding  the  constitutional  objections,  which  so  often  unluckily 
arrest  and  retard  the  cause  of  public  education  and  improvement. 
At  all  events,  I  most  devoutly  hope  that  even  if  these  suggestions 
of  mine  be  found  impracticable,  (but  for  which  I  ask  at  least  a  fail- 
hearing  and  trial,)  some  expedient  may  be  discovered  for  saving  a 
meritorious  and  useful  institution  from  ruin  and  decay — some  way 
for  rescuing  its  valuable  collections  from  destruction. 

In  my  next  I  shall  continue  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  and 
dwell  awhile  upon  the  question  of  exchanges ;  and,  until  then,  I 
am  yours,  respectfully, 

J.  C.  B. 

LETTEB  No.  XI. 

ON  THE  NATIONAL  INSTITUTE— INTERNATIONAL  AND  DOMESTIC 
EXCHANGES. 

FEBRUARY  17,  1844. 

Since  the  publication  of  my  last  number,  a  strong  appeal  has 
been  made  through  your  columns  to  Congress  and  the  public  at 
large  for  aid  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  meeting  of  the  Na- 
tional Institute  in  this  city,  on  the  first  Monday  of  April  next,  and 
the  printing  of  the  proceedings,  &c.,  on  that  interesting  occasion. 
The  appeal  gives  a  melancholy  account  of  the  present  condition  of 
the  Institute,  its  inability  to  make  provision  for  the  exhibition  of  its 
large  and  valuable  collections,  and  the  rare  and  important  presents 
lately  received  from  ALEXANDRE  VATTEMARE,  of  Paris.  The  pe- 
cuniary and  other  aid  of  the  citizens  and  friends  of  knowledge  is 
earnestly  requested,  and  the  appeal  is  perfectly  authorized  by  the 
unusual  interest  of  this  great  scientific  reunion,  and  by  the  fact  that 
?ome  of  our  most  able  and  well  informed  men  of  learning  are  under 


51 

promise  to  deliver  lectures  or  send  papers  to  be  read.  It  is  with  a 
rational  hope  that  the  citizens  of  this  District  in  particular,  in  view  of 
the  interest  of  the  proposed  meeting-,  will  not  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  this 
warm  and  well-worded  appeal,  that  the  National  Institute  presents 
itself  to  public  notice  and  support  under  its  existing  difficulties. 

You  will  remember  that  I  urged  the  claims  of  the  Institute  upon 
the  favorable  notice  of  Congress  as  at  least  equal,  although  in  fact 
they  are  superior,  to  those  which  called  forth  the  appropriations 
in  1831  and  1832  for  the  benefit  of  the  District  colleges,  and  that, 
whilst  insisting  upon  the  right  of  that  association  to  expect  public 
support,  it  recommends  itself  in  a  peculiar  manner  to  the  patronage 
of  Government.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  committee  of  the  Insti- 
tute, appointed  to  memorialize  Congress  at  the  present  session,  will 
soon  make  their  appeal,  and  that  the  two  Houses  will  be  found  dis- 
posed to  give  them  a  fair  and  impartial  hearing  and  a  liberal  con- 
sideration of  their  case.  I  flatter  myself  that  public  attention  here 
and  elsewhere  has  been  attracted  to  the  condition,  means,  services, 
and  future  career  of  usefulness  of  the  Institute,  and  that  the  present 
is  the  fit  time  for  bringing  before  Congress  and  the  people  such  ap- 
peals and  statements  as  may  give  them  correct  information  on  the 
subject  and  enlist  their  attention  and  sympathy.  I  feel  that  the 
hour  is  not  far  distant  when  the  community  will  be  made  alive  to 
the  importance  of  this  subject,  and  the  current  of  popular  approba- 
tion turned  towards  a  too  long  neglected  institution.  This  hope  and 
belief  have  induced  me  to  devote  my  pen  to  a  brief  account  of  the 
operations,  plans,  and  services  of  the  National  Institute,  and  to  an 
appeal  to  the  citizens  of  this  Republic  in  its  behalf. 

I  have  before  me  an  interesting  letter  from  Mr.  VATTEMARE,  dated 
Paris,  the  10th  December  last,  and  addressed  to  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  National  Institute,  extracts  from  which  were  pub- 
lished in  your  paper  of  the  12th  ultimo.  That  letter  announced 
the  transmission  of  a  variety  of  interesting  articles  for  the  Institute, 
and  that  a  still  larger  number  remained  in  his  hands  awaiting  fur- 
ther instructions  from  Washington,  and  the  means  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses to  be  incurred  on  the  occasion.  It  is  well  known  in  this 
country  that  Mr.  VATTEMARE  has  devoted  his  time,  money,  talents, 
and  perseverance  to  the  subject  of  Exchanges,  and  that  the  atten- 
tion of  well-informed  men  in  Europe  and  in  America  has  been 
gradually  more  and  more  attracted  to  the  progress  of  this  praise- 


52 

worthy  enterprise.  If  he  succeeds  in  carrying  his  plans  into  opera- 
tion, a  new  era  will  dawn  for  the  march  of  intelligence  and  mind. 
The  multiplication  and  the  increasing  cheapness  of  the  communica- 
tions between  the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  will  aid  very  materially  in  • 
deed  in  the  full  realization  of  his  hopes.  The  two  hemispheres  will 
thus  be  brought  close  together  by  the  bonds  of  mutual  benefits  ;  and, 
as  nothing  serves  more  to  the  preservation  and  perpetuity  of  good 
will  between  nations  than  the  interchange  of  their  intellectual  pro- 
ductions, upon  a  well  regulated  system  of  national  reciprocity,  Mr. 
VATTEMARE,  and  all  those  who  co-operate  with  him  on  the  subject 
of  Exchanges,  will  have  discovered  the  very  best  and  most  practical 
means  of  preserving  the  influence  of  peace  in  the  civilized  world, 
and  of  aiding  in  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  I  am  thus 
emphatic  in  my  allusion  to  the  writer  of  the  letter  in  question  be- 
cause I  consider  this  move  of  his  as  the  first  in  that  great  impulse 
which  I  wish  the  National  Institute  to  initiate  in  this  continent.  I 
feel  perfectly  authorized  in  asserting,  from  the  value  of  the  books, 
engravings,  charts,  &c.,  a  part  whereof  have  been  received  in  this 
city  and  are  waiting  for  public  assistance,  so  that  they  and  the  other 
collections  of  the  Institute  may  be  exhibited  for  public  instruction 
and  amusement,  that  the  announcement  of  the  fact  that  there  is  so 
philanthropic  an  individual  as  VATTEMARE  in  the  great  metropolis 
of  France,  who  has  collected,  and  is  still  collecting  valuable  ma- 
terials for  the  benefit  of  this  country,  ought  to  interest  every  citizen 
who  has  the  least  pretension  to  information  or  education.  It  will 
be  seen  by  the  recent  publications  on  the  part  of  the  National  In- 
stitute, that  it  cannot  afford  to  pay  the  required  expenses  on  a  fur- 
ther transmission  from  Paris ;  and  I  trust  that  the  discredit  of  that 
want  of  ability  to  take  the  necessary  steps  in  this  matter  will  not 
be  allowed  to  rest  at  the  door  of  the  American  people,  who  are  thus 
called  upon  to  assist  in  carrying  out  an  enterprise  which  concerns, 
and  is  sure  to  benefit  them  most  materially.  The  way  whereby  that 
pecuniary  assistance  may  be  made  to  reach  the  destination  where 
good  may  be  effected,  has  been,  over  and  over  again,  plainly  indi- 
cated. The  will  is  all  that  is  requisite,  and  that  will  I  hope  exists 
among  the  people.  Whilst  thus  endeavoring  to  aid  in  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  plan  of  International  Exchanges,  by  our  co-operation 
and  pecuniary  assistance,  through  which  our  colleges,  academies, 
Federal  and  State  Governments,  municipal  corporations,  scientific 


53 

and  other  institutions,  &c.,  will  receive  the  mental  treasures  of  the 
Old  World,  it  is  exceedingly  important  and  advisable  that  the  sys- 
tem of  domestic  exchanges  should  be  fostered  and  rendered  efficient. 
The  subject  is,  indeed,  a  vast  and  interesting  one.  The  benefits  to 
flow  from  the  judicious  operation  of  that  system,  extending,  like 
the  circulation  of  the  blood  in  the  human  body,  throughout  the  land, 
will  be  felt  and  made  abundant  in  every  section  of  the  country. 
There  is  no  public  or  private  institution  in  the  United  States  which 
makes  it  a  part  of  its  business  to  make  collections  in  history,  belles 
lettres,  the  fine  arts,  the  exact  sciences,  agriculture,  geology,  mine- 
ralogy, astronomy,  &c.,  that  will  not  gain  by  adopting  and  carry- 
ing into  effect  a  system  of  Exchanges  with  the  National  Institute. 
In  return  for  the  duplicates  which  that  association  may  thus  receive 
at  different  times,  it  will  be  enabled,  from  the  size,  value,  and  abun- 
dance of  its  own  collections,  to  make  a  return  in  some  article  of 
interest  which  the  person  or  persons  so  sending  will  be  very  much 
gratified  to  get  in  hand.  It  is  an  ascertained  fact,  that  there  are 
articles  of  rare  value  and  interest,  lying  concealed  and  idle  in  the 
hands  of  individuals,  which,  if  once  transmitted  to  an  institution 
where  they  might  be  brought  to  light  and  properly  exhibited  and 
taken  care  of,  would  aid  much  in  the  diffusion  of  general  informa- 
tion, and  afford  much  gratification  to  the  public.  Already  has  the 
Institute  called  upon  persons  possessing  such  articles,  and  invited 
them  to  transmit  the  same  for  the  use  of  its  cabinets,  and  I  am 
happy  to  say  the  appeal  has  met  with  a  prompt  and  flattering  re- 
sponse. But  much  remains  undone.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
some  well-conceived  and  well-ordered  plan  should  be  adopted, 
whereby  public  institutions  and  private  persons  shall  be  sure  of  re- 
ceiving equivalents  and  being  honorably  mentioned  for  their  liber- 
ality. This  can  be  best  effected  by  making  Washington  the  head- 
quarters of  Domestic  Exchanges,  and  the  National  Institute  the 
agent  and  receiver. 

If  the  appeal  which  has  been  just  made  to  the  public,  and  that 
which  is  soon  to  go  before  Congress,  produce  the  fruit  which  we  all 
desire  and  anticipate,  then  will  that  association  have  it  in  its  power 
to  defray  all  the  expenses  attendant  upon  the  operation  of  the 
system,  and  to  provide  a  proper  and  convenient  place  for  a  public 
exhibition  of  the  specimens  and  articles  which  it  may  receive  in 
exchange  for  those  which  can  be  spared  from  its  collections. 


54 

Every  person,  and  all  collections  of  individuals,  whether  lay  or 
clerical,  scientific  or  artistical,  mechanical  or  agricultural,  political 
or  municipal,  should  feel  immediately  interested  in  this  matter. 
By  sending  their  superfluities  to  the  National  Institute  in  the  way 
of  exchange,  they  are  clearly  the  gainers  in  every  sense  of  the 
phrase.  They  part  with  that  which  they  can  easily  spare,  and 
receive  that  which  they  have  not.  This  reciprocity  becomes  soon 
the  means  of  spreading  knowledge  far  and  wide,  and  those  who  are 
desirous  of  being  benefactors  of  their  race  are  amply  provided  with 
all  the  materials  required  for  their  great  and  philanthropic  purpose. 
We  are  in  an  age  when  knowledge  is  power.  The  gigantic  strides 
of  man  in  the  march  of  mind  are  waxing  more  wonderful  and  ac- 
celerated with  every  passing  year.  It  is  emphatically  an  age  of 
experiments  and  daring  undertakings.  Steam  has  almost  annihi- 
lated distance,  and  the  pen  has  nearly  superseded  the  sword  in  the 
settlement  of  questions  between  nations.  Space  is  becoming  a 
word  of  no  meaning  before  the  startling  results  of  the  application 
of  electro  magnetism,  and  the  day  is  not  remote  when  those  who 
are  now  severed  by  deserts,  mountains,  and  vast  oceans,  will  be 
made  neighbors  by  communications,  almost  miraculous  and  incre- 
dible for  their  frequenc}^,  economy,  safety,  and  celerity.  All  these 
being  either  facts  or  events  highly  probable,  (for  they  cast  their 
shadows  before,)  it  becomes  every  man,  who  wishes  to  escape  the 
charge  of  being  a  sluggard,  and  indifferent  to  what  is  transpiring 
around  him,  to  gird  his  loins  for  the  race  and  to  store  his  mind  for 
the  encounter.  But  as  knowledge  is  the  fruit  of  study  and  expe- 
rience, it  is  necessary  that  we  should  have  those  two  important 
elements  at  our  command  ;  and  not  one  method  more  piactical  and 
advantageous  can  be  discovered  than  the  association  of  men  ac- 
tuated by  a  laudable  thirst  after  instruction,  who  together  do  that 
which  as  individuals  it  would  be  vain  for  them  to  attempt.  Among 
the  numerous  associations  for  intellectual  purposes  established  in 
this  country,  the  National  Institute  has  taken  a  highly  respectable 
position,  and  has  exercised  a  great  and  salutary  influence  upon  the 
public  mind.  Having  proved  their  sincere  devotion  to  the  good 
cause  which  they  are  pledged  to  advance  and  support  by  every 
honorable  means,  the  members  of  the  Institute  have  deemed  the 
subject  of  National  and  Domestic  Exchanges  worthy  of  a  most  stren- 
uous effort  to  carry  it  into  operation,  and  for  that  purpose  earnestly 


55 

invite  the  co-operation  of  the  public  by  pecuniary  and  other  assis- 
tance. Again  do  I  say,  let  not  their  expectations  be  disappointed, 
and  a  new  era  will  dawn  upon  this  hemisphere,  aud  a  new  con- 
solidation be  added  to  the  weakened  bonds  of  our  glorious  Union. 

I  would  therefore  suggest  that  the  duplicates  of  books,  charts, 
documents,  geological  and  other  specimens,  which  may  be  in  the 
possession  of  the  Executive,  Congress,  colleges,  public  and  private 
academies,  mercantile,  agricultural,  mechanical,  literary,  and  other 
associations,  should  be  laid  aside,  under  the  care  of  some  compe- 
tent individual,  to  be  transmitted  to  the  National  Institute,  as  soon 
as  it  is  able  to  defray  the  expenses  of  transportation,  and  posses- 
ses a  proper  place  for  exhibition.  1  would  recommend  that  indi- 
viduals who  take  an  interest  in  such  matters  make  their  collections 
and  distributions  for  a  like  purpose  and  in  like  manner;  and  that 
the  National  Institute  inform  Mr.  VATTEMARE  that  it  is  making  all 
possible  efforts  to  induce  Congress  and  the  people  to  aid  and  co- 
operate in  his  honorable  and  philanthropic  project.  I  would  also 
suggest  that  the  National-Institute,  so  soon  as  it  shall  have  collect- 
ed a  sufficient  sum  for  the  purpose,  open,  through  a  committee 
appointed  for  that  special  purpose,  a  correspondence  with  Govern- 
ment, the  heads  of  public  and  private  colleges  and  institutions, 
and  such  of  our  citizens  or  foreigners  who  may  be  interested  in  the 
matter,  inviting  again  their  assistance,  indicating  the  means  of 
transmission,  promising  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses,  and  to 
provide  a  place  for  their  preservation  and  exhibition. 

The  Institute  will  be  thus  materially  assisted  in  the  plan  of  es- 
tablishing a  great  national  gallery  of  curiosities,  learning,  litera- 
ture, and  the  fine  arts,  at  the  metropolis  of  this  Republic,  and  the 
people  be  convinced  that  its  progress  and  success  are  deeply  inter- 
esting to  the  country,  and  highly  important  for  the  advance  of 
knowledge  and  education. 

I  would  advise  such  of  my  readers  as  feel  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, to  read  a  very  interesting  article  entitled  "  A  Plan  of  Ex- 
changes," by  Dr.  E.  FOREMAN,  of  the  Washington  University  of 
Baltimore,  dated  December  10,  1841.  and  published  in  the  second 
Bulletin  of  the  National  Institute,  p.  168. 

My  next  shall  be  devoted  to  a  brief  account  of  the  origin,  pro- 
gress, and  present  state  of  the  Depot  of  Charts  and  Instruments,  or 
National  Observatory,  in  this  city,  under  the  superintendence  of 


Lieut.  J.  M.  GILLIS,  of  our  navy,  and  the  Observatory  at  George- 
town College,  assigned  to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  JAMES  CURLEY. 
Until  then,  I  remain  yours,  respectfully, 

J.  C.  B. 

LETTER  No.  XII. 

INTERNATIONAL  AND  DOMESTIC  EXCHANGES;  DEPOT  OF   CHARTS 
AND  INSTRUMENTS,  AND  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE  OBSERVATORY. 

WASHINGTON,  March  9,  1844. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Having  committed  the  oversight  in  my  last  of  over- 
looking a  very  interesting  report  by  Mr.  MARKOE,  of  a  Committee 
on  Exchanges,  to  the  National  Institute,  consisting  of  Col.  AEERT, 
Mr.  MARKOE,  Mr.  DAYTON,  and  Dr.  KING,  on  the  13th  December, 
1841,  and  which  has  received  the  sanction  of  that  body,  (see  2d 
Bulletin,  pp.  162,  and  164,)  before  proceeding  to  the  immediate 
topics  of  this  number,  I  take  the  occasion  of  referring  my  readers 
to  that  paper  as  one  well  worthy  a  perusal. 

The  committee  recommend  :  1st.  That  a  system  of  exchanges 
be  entered  upon  without  delay.  2d.  That  the  curator  and  assist- 
ants be  directed,  for  this  purpose,  to  separate  all  duplicates,  except 
those  from  the  Exploring  Expedition  ;  and  that  they  select  and 
label  such  specimens  as  are  to  be  sent  to  individuals  or  societies. 
3d.  That  the  first  step  taken  be  to  discharge  the  obligations  of  ex- 
change already  incurred  by  the  Institution.  4th.  That  a  commit- 
tee be  appointed,  to  whom  the  curator  shall  submit  all  sets  of 
specimens  thus  set  aside  for  any  given  exchanges,  who  shall  decide 
upon  the  equivalency  before  said  specimens  shall  be  boxed  up  and 
sent  off.  5th.  That  in  all  cases  of  difficulty  which  may  arise,  ref- 
erence must  be  made  to  the  President  or  Vice  President  of  the  In- 
stitution for  decision,  who  will,  if  they  conceive  it  necessary,  sub- 
mit the  question  to  the  Institution.  6th.  That  a  book  be  kept  by 
the  curator,  subject  at  all  times  to  the  inspection  of  the  committee, 
in  which  must  be  noted  the  contents  of  each  box  or  package,  lists 
of  the  articles  for  which  they  are  the  equivalents,  the  name  and 
place  of  the  society  or  individual  to  whom  one  set  is  to  be  sent  and 
from  whom  the  other  has  been  received. 

The  support,  co-operation,  and  patronage  of  the  public  are  all 
that  is  wanting  to  enable  the  Institute  to  carry  a  proper  plan  of  In- 


57 

ternational  and  Domestic  Exchanges  into  successful  operation,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  community  will  be  awakened  and  inter- 
ested in  this  highly  important  subject. 

I  cannot  better  enter  upon  the  discussion  of  the  grand  and  sub- 
lime topic  of  astronomy  than  by  prefixing  the  eloquent  language 
of  the  Hon.  JOHN  QUTNCY  ADAMS,  in  his  report  to  Congress  on  the 
Smithsonian  Fund,  made  on   the  26th  January,  1839,  and  from 
which  I  have  already  quoted.     (See  report  No.  857,  27th  Congress, 
2d  session.)     The  venerable  chairman  remarks  : 

II  The  express  object  of  an  observatory  is  the  increase  of  know- 
4  ledge  by  new  discovery.     The  physical  relations  between  the  fir- 
c  rnanent  of  heaven  and  the  globe  allotted  by  the  Creator  of  all  to 
'  be  the  abode  of  man  are  discoverable  only  by  the  organ  of  the  eye. 
'  Many  of  these  relations  are  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  hu- 
'  man  life,  and  perhaps  of  the  earth  itself.    Who  can  conceive  the 

*  idea  of  a  world  without  a  sun,  but  must  connect  it  with  the  ex- 

*  tinctions  of  light  and  heat,  of  all  animal  life,  of  all  vegetation  and 
'  production  ;  leaving  the   lifeless  clod  of  matter  to  return  to  the 
1  primitive  state  of  chaos,  or  to  be  consumed  by  elemental  fire  ? 
'  The  influence  of  the  moon — of  the  planets,  our  next  door  neigh- 
'  bors  of  the  solar  system — of  the  fixed  stars — scattered  over  the 
1  blue  expanse  in  multitudes  exceeding  the  power  of  human  com- 

*  putation,  and  at  distances  of  which  imagination  herself  can  form 
4  no  distinct  conception  ;  the  influence  of  all  these  upon  the  globe 
1  which  we  inhabit,  and  upon  the  condition  of  man,  its  dying  and 

*  deathless  inhabitant,  is  great  and  mysterious,  and,  in  the  search 
'  for  final  causes,  to  a  great  degree   inscrutable  to   his  finite  and 
i  limited  faculties.     The  extent  to  which  they  are  discoverable  is 
'  and  must  remain   unknown  ;  but  to  the  vigilance  of  a  sleepless 
'  eye,  to  the  toil  of  a  tireless  hand,  and  to  the  meditations  of  a 
'  thinking,  combining,  and  analyzing  mind,  secrets  are  successively 
'  revealed  not  only  of  the  deepest  import  to  the  welfare  of  man  in 
4  his  earthly  career,  but  which  seem  to  lift  him  from  the  earth  to 
'  the  threshold  of  his  eternal  abode ;  to  lead  him  blindfold  up  to 
'  the  council  chamber  of  Omnipotence  ;  and  there,  stripping  the 
'  bandage  from  his  eyes,  bid  him  look  undazzled  at  the  throne  of 
'  God." 

The  study  of  the  heavens,  and   all   the   phenomena  connected 
therewith,  is  one  which  has  occupied  mankind   from  the  earliest 
8 


ages  of  the  world.  Its  importance,  interest,  value,  and  necessity 
have  been  too  well  and  often  asserted  and  conceded  for  me  to  in- 
dulge in  a  disquisition  on  the  subject,  even  did  time  and  space 
allow  me  to  dilate  upon  a  topic  so  well  suited  to  exercise  the  reason, 
delight  the  fancy,  improve  the  heart,  and  give  scope  to  the  play  of 
imagination.  Our  own  fair  land,  thank  God,  is  not  a  sluggard  in 
the  matter.  Public  attention  has  been  attracted  to  the  necessity  of 
constructing  observatories  and  creating  a  body  of  scientific  and 
practical  men,  who  may  make  that  study  a  profession.  The  Go- 
vernment of  this  Republic,  amongst  others,  has  deemed  the  subject  , 
worthy  its  most  serious  notice,  and  a  bill  to  erect  a  small  observa- 
tory, in  connexion  with  the  Depot  of  Charts  and  Instruments  which 
was  established  in  1830,  was  introduced  by  the  Committee  on  Naval 
Affairs,  through  Mr.  MALLORY,  its  chairman,  on  the  15th  of  March, 
1842,  and  to  which  the  observatory  now  in  course  of  construction 
under  the  superintendence  of  Lieut.  J.  M.  GILLISS  owes  its  exist- 
ence. (See  report  No.  449,  27th  Congress,  second  session.)  It  is 
due  to  justice  to  state,  and  it  is  a  fact  of  which  I  have  personal 
knowledge,  that  the  passage  of  the  bill  in  question  was  owing  in  a 
great  degree  to  the  exertions  and  perseverance  of  that  officer,  to 
whose  care  the  edifice  alluded  to  has  been  very  properly  confided. 
Having  been  sent  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Europe,  for  the 
purpose  of  visiting  most  of  the  prominent  observatories  of  the  old 
world,  of  consulting  with  the  most  distinguished  men  of  science 
and  astronomical  knowledge,  and  procuring  good  and  suitable  in- 
struments, Mr.  GILLISS  returned  several  months  afterwards  to  this 
country,  and  soon  set  about  the  construction  of  the  depot ;  that  is, 
in  the  month  of  April  last,  upon  that  fine  and  commanding  site 
called  Univeisity  Square. 

As  the  report  of  Lieut.  GILLISS  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
dated  Washington,  November  23d,  of  the  last  year,  may  not  have 
met  the  eyes  of  some  of  my  readers,  who  would  like  to  learn  some 
details  on  the  subject,  I  quote  from  that  paper,  as  the  best  and  most 
condensed  account  that  could  be  offered. 

The  report  states  that  the  principal  part  of  the  new  Depot  is  upon 
the  line  of  D  street  north,  and  is  ninety-five  feet  above  ordinary 
high-water  mark;  that  the  central  house  is  fifty  feet  square,  two 
stories  and  a  basement  high,  and  surmounted  by  a  hemispherical 
revolving  dome,  resting  on  circular  walls,  elevated  eight  feet  above 


59 

the  roof.  The  height  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  balustrade 
surrounding  the  house  is  thirty-three  feet,  and  to  the  top  of  the 
dome  is  fifty-four  feet.  It  has  three  wings :  the  eastern  and  the 
western  twenty-six  feet  three  inches  long,  twenty-one  wide,  and 
eighteen  feet  high  ;  the  southern  twenty  feet  long,  and  same  width 
and  height  as  the  others ;  a  passage-way  ten  feet  square  divides  it 
from  the  house.  The  masonry  for  the  foundations  of  the  walls  and 
piers  is  of  the  most  massive  and  durable  kind — the  greater  portion 
of  that  for  the  piers  and  circular  wall  being  laid  with  the  best  hy- 
draulic cement.  The  piers  of  granite  were  all  erected  in  July,  and 
the  brick-work  completed  early  in  October  last;  the  roofs  have 
been  sheathed,  and  the  coppering  will  be  finished  in  a  few  days; 
a  part  of  the  floors  has  been  laid,  the  furnace  for  heating  the  build- 
ing put  up,  the  cast  iron  work  for  the  revolving  dome  fitted,  and 
plastering  commenced.  Mr.  GILLISS  expects  to  complete  the  work 
during  the  month  of  May  next. 

The  magnetic  observatory  is  ninety  feet  to  the  southwest  of  the 
preceding,  and  is,  with  its  entrance-way,  entirely  below  the  ground, 
the  roof  of  the  former  being  rather  more  than  four  feet  from  the 
surface  ;  the  entrance  to  it  is  from  the  basement,  through  a  subter- 
ranean passage  ninety-three  feet  long.  This  observatory  is  in  the 
foim  of  a  cross;  is  seventy  feet  long  in  each  direction,  ten  feet 
wide,  and  ten  feet  high.  It  is  built  entirely  of  heavy  North  Caro- 
lina heart  pine,  secured  throughout  with  wood  pins  and  copper 
nails,  on  dry-powdered  clay,  rammed  hard  around  the  outer  plank- 
ing, and  is  so  constructed  that  any  piece  may  be  taken  out  for 
repair.  An  inside  sheathing  permits  the  air  to  circulate  freely 
around  it,  to  prevent  internal  dampness ;  and  an  octagonal  dome 
in  the  centre,  fitted  with  double  windows,  admits  sufficient  light  for 
ordinary  purposes,  while  the  volume  of  air  between  the  windows 
is  such  as  will  prevent  sudden  changes  of  temperature.  This 
building  was  covered  over  early  in  August,  and  is  completed,  ex- 
cept a  little  paint-work.  The  range  of  temperature  within  it,  since 
fitting  the  door  and  windows,  as  shown  by  self-registering  ther- 
mometers, has  been  from  55°  to  58|°  Fahrenheit,  equal  3^. 

The  great  telescope  and  the  comet-searcher  will  be  completed  within 
the  specified  time  at  Munich,  viz.  January  1st,  1844;  the  mural 
circle  will  probably  be  shipped  from  London  about  the  1st  of  De- 
cember ;  the  transit  for  prime  vertical,  made  by  PISTOR,  at  Berlin, 


under  the  supervision  of  ENCKE,  was  shipped  from  Hamburgh  Oc- 
tober 18th  ;  the  transit  for  meridian  made  by  ERTELS,  at  Munich, 
is  doubtless  on  its  way  to  the  United  States.  In  case  no  delay 
occurs  in  the  receipt  of  these  instruments,  he  expects  to  have  them 
all  mounted  and  ready  for  use  about  the  1st  of  July  next.  The 
magnetic  instruments  were  received  about  ten  days  before  date  of 
report,  and  vveie  then  in  course  of  adjustment  in  the  Observatory; 
the  meteorological  instruments  were  received  last  May  and  are  safely 
preserved,  the  erection  of  the  registering  anemometer  being  delayed 
until  the  completion  of  a  superintendent's  house. 

Having  allowed  Mr.  GILLISS  to  explain  in  his  own  words  all  that 
had  been  done,  up  to  the  date  of  his  report,  for  carrying  into  effect 
the  design  of  Congress,  I  will  now  proceed  to  take  a  brief  notice  of 
the  sister  observatory  of  Georgetown  College,  which  owes  its  ex- 
istence to  private  liberality,  and,  whilst  it  does  great  credit  to  the 
most  worthy  Professor,  the  Rev.  JAMES  CURLEY,  under  whose  im- 
mediate care  it  is  placed,  at  the  same  time  is  another  proof,  if  such 
were  needed,  of  the  love  of  knowledge  which  characterizes  most 
eminently  the  distinguished  order  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

The  donation  to  which  the  College  Observatory  owes  its  con- 
struction was  made  in  1841.  In  1842  a  plan  was  agreed  upon,  and 
a  correspondence  opened  with  European  artists,  and  some  of  the 
instruments  ordered.  The  building,  was  commenced  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1843,  and  is  nearly  finished.  The  edifice  is  about  four  hun- 
dred yards  west  by  north  of  the  College,  on  a  rising  ground,  and 
commands  a  free  view  of  the  Government  Depot  or  Observatory 
just  referred  to,  which  is  about  1|-  miles  to  the  southeast.  The 
building  is  sixty  feet  long,  east  and  west,  and  about  thirty  feet 
wide,  and  has  three  rooms  on  the  ground  floor.  The  eastern  and 
western  rooms  are  fifteen  feet  high,  and  are  intended  for  the  me- 
ridian instruments.  The  middle  part  of  the  building  is  thirty  feet 
square  and  about  thirty  high,  with  a  balustrade  all  around,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  walls  of  the  meridian  rooms.  A  third  story  of  frame- 
work is  constructed  within  the  balustrade  of  the  middle  building. 
It  is  thirty  feet  squaie,  with  a  rotary  hemispherical  dome  twenty 
feet  in  diameter.  This  dome  rests  upon  twenty  conical  eight-inch 
rollers ;  there  is  a  footway  three  feet  wide  all  around  between  the 
dome  and  balustrade.  A  solid  piece  of  mason-work  is  constructed, 
the  top  of  which  passes  through  the  floor  of  the  room  formed  by 


the  dome,  and  upon  which  is  to  be  placed  an  equatorial  refracting 
telescope. 

The  principal  instruments  for  this  Observatory,  are,  1st,  an  equa- 
torial refractor,  with  a  7£  inch  object-glass,  and  ten  feet  focal 
length,  having  eleven  eye-pieces,  six  of  which  are  adapted  to  a 
position  micrometer ;  this  instrument  is  being  made  by  GAMBIER,  in 
Paris,  and  will  be  finished  in  June  next ;  2d,  a  forty-six  inch  me- 
ridian circle,  from  SIMMS,  of  London ;  3d,  a  transit  instrument  or 
meridian  telescope  of  the  best  construction.  This  instrument  has 
an  object-glass  of  4^  inches  diameter  and  76  inches  focal  length, 
was  made  by  ESTEL  and  SON,  of  Munich,  in  1843,  has  been  sent, 
but  not  yet  received  at  the  College.  Several  smaller  and  necessary 
instruments  with  time-pieces  have  been  received  from  London  and 
Munich.  Another  sidereal  clock  (a  present  from  T.  ROBERT  JEN- 
KINS, Esq.,  of  Baltimore)  is  expected  from  London. 

The  College  intend  to  collect  an  astronomical  library,  and  with 
that  view  have  on  a  hand  number  of  excellent  works  upon  the 
subject. 

I  feel  peculiarly  happy  in  having  it  in  my  power  to  give  some 
information  about  two  Institutions  which  are  not  as  well  and  gen- 
erally known  as  they  deserve  to  be,  and  to  congratulate  the  people 
of  this  District  in  particular,  and  the  country  at  large,  that  we  pos- 
sess in  our  midst  such  interesting  and  valuable  agents  in  the  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  men,  as  well  as  ornamental  specimens 
of  architecture. 

I  shall  not  here  insist  upon  the  practical  benefits  likely  to  follow 
upon  the  successful  operation  of  these  two  Observatories.  I  think 
such  an  attempt  would  be  a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  and 
good  sense  of  my  readers.  Let  the  subject  speak  for  itself.  Time, 
experience,  the  common  consent  of  all  learned  and  sensible  men, 
.and  the  public  interest  felt  in  every  civilized  country  in  the  matter, 
prove,  more  than  words  of  mine  could  do,  that  astronomy,  and  its 
co-ordinate  branches,  have  been  deemed,  in  every  age,  clime,  and 
Government,  as  of  the  greatest  importance  and  value. 

Let  it  then  be  the  pride,  as  it  is  the  duty  and  interest  of  our  Gov- 
ernment and  the  people,  to  co-operate  in  carrying  out  the  wishes 
and  expectations  of  learned  men  on  the  subject;  so  that  those  who 
devote  themselves  to  high  and  useful  studies  may  enjoy  that  as- 
sistance, appreciation,  and  notice  which  should  ever  attend  upon 


merit,  and  our  Republic  assume  by  such  instrumentality  a  respecta- 
ble position  among  those  nations  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves by  their  attention  to  intellectual  pursuits. 

Those  who  may  wish  to  obtain  more  details  in  relation  to  the 
Depot  of  Charts  and  Instruments  will  do  well  to  consult  the  de- 
scription of  the  buildings  and  instruments  furnished  for  the  Army 
and  Navy  Chronicle  by  Lieut.  Gilliss.  It  was  published,  with  an 
engraving  of  the  Observatory,  in  the  Chronicle  of  June  1,  1843. 
Yours,  respectfully,  J.  C.  B. 


THE  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS,  AND  WASHINGTON  MONU- 
MENT—RECAPITULATION—CONGRESS AND  THE  CITY  OF  WASH- 
INGTON.   

LETTER  No.  XIII. 

WASHINGTON,  March  23,  1844. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Since  the  appearance  of  my  last  number  I  have 
observed  by  the  papers  that  certain  moves  have  been  made  in  Con- 
gress, which,  from  their  importance  and  the  immediate  bearing  on 
some  of  the  subjects  upon  which  I  have  dilated  for  several  months 
past,  call  for  due  notice  at  my  hands. 

I  allude  to  the  report  of  Mr.  Pratt,  of  New  York,  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Buildings,  made  the  7th  of  the  present  month, 
and  published  in  your  paper  of  Monday  last,  and  the  bill  proposed 
by  the  same  public-spirited  gentleman  for  the  erection  of  a  National 
Monument  in  this  city. 

The  report  in  question,  after  stating  that  the  Capitol  and  the 
grounds  are  in  a  good  condition,  and  that  the  former  requires  but 
slight  alterations  and  repairs  in  the  roof  and  a  general  coat  of  paint 
on  its  exterior,  recommends  improvements  in  the  jets  d'eau  and 
fountains,  as  also  some  trifling  ones  for  the  President's  House,  such 
as  painting  the  exterior,  sundry  repairs  to  its  offices,  &c.  After  re- 
marking that  the  State  and  Treasury  Departments  need  but  a  few 
unimportant  repairs  and  improvements,  it  goes  on  to  recommend 
the  erection  of  an  additional,  substantial,  and  fire-proof  building 
on  the  ground  south  of  the  Navy  Department,  and  ranging  as  near 
as  possible  therewith.  This  building  is  to  be  of  brick,  with  a  mar- 
ble portico  of  six  columns,  the  floors  to  be  of  brick,  stairways,  door 
jambs,  window  frames,  sash,  and  shutters  to  be  of  iron,  and  the 
whole  estimated  to  cost  $119,774.  The  committee  recommend  an 


63 

appropriation  of  $28,275  to  purchase  certain  lots  and  buildings 
necessary  to  the  complete  arrangement  of  the  General  Post  Office, 
as  also  the  erection  of  one  of  the  wings  to  the  main  building  of  the 
Patent  Office,  as  contemplated  in  the  original  plan,  the  same  to  be 
constructed  of  granite,  and  state  that  the  office  has  on  hand  a  fund 
which  is  very  nearly  sufficient  to  defray  the  expense  attending  the 
building  in  question.  An  appropriation  (sum  not  named)  is  also 
recommended  for  the  enlargement  of  the  conservatory  for  the  cul. 
tivation  and  preservation  of  the  rare  and  curious  plants  of  the 
Exploring  Expedition.  It  is  also  recommended  that  the  Mall  be 
fenced  in  and  planted. 

The  bill  referred  to  proposes  to  erect  a  monument  of  three  sto- 
ries, the  crypt  or  basement  to  contain  the  Statue  of  Washington 
by  Greenough,  (now  lodged  in  a  mere  shed  and  which  is  an  eye- 
sore in  the  Capitol  grounds,)  with  niches  for  the  busts  of  the 
Presidents  of  the  United  States ;  the  second  story  niches  for  statues 
of  the  illustrious  men  of  the  country  ;  and  the  third  to  be  a  gallery 
for  paintings,  historical  and  national.  The  monument  is  to  be  120 
feet  high,  of  the  same  size  as  the  Rotundo,  (100  feet  in  diameter,) 
the  whole  to  be  completed  in  eighteen  months,  cost  $100,000.  It 
is  proposed  to  call  upon  the  Washington  Monument  Society  of  this 
city  for  an  appropriation  of  the  funds  collected  and  on  hand  (say 
$48,000)  to  aid  in  this  work.  I  have  seen  the  sketch  made  by  Mr. 
Strickland,  of  Philadelphia,  and  consider  it  well  adapted  to  the 
great  national  object  in  view.  His  name  is  a  sufficient  warranty  in 
the  matter. 

I  am  particularly  delighted  to  find  that  a  move  has  been  made 
in  this  last  mentioned  matter,  as  it  confirms  and  agrees  with  the 
suggestion  which  I  had  the  honor  of  making  in  my  letter  number 
VIII,  and  of  urging  upon  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  people 
as  one  of  the  utmost  importance  and  practicability.  I  congratulate 
the  country  that  it  has  in  the  legislative  councils  of  the  nation  a  man 
who,  amid  the  storms  and  tumult  of  political  and  party  excitement, 
has  the  patriotism  and  good  taste  to  direct  his  attention  to  matters 
so  interesting  and  important.  It  reflects  equal  honor  upon  his  head 
and  heart.  The  people  of  the  whole  country  should  feel  interest- 
ed in  a  prompt  action  on  the  subject-matter  of  the  report  and  bill 
in  question,  and  the  inhabitants  in  this  District  ought,  whilst  ex- 
pressing their  gratitude  for  this  attention  to  their  immediate  wants 


and  interests,  to  make  their  voice  heard  in  suppoit  of  this  proposed 
public-spirited  legislation. 

I  shall  watch  the  progress  of  these  two  bills  with  great  interest  and 
anxiety,  and  trust  that  we  may  have  in  due  course  of  time  the  great 
satisfaction  of  hailing  their  passage  through  both  Houses,  and  en- 
joying the  excellent  effects  likely  to  ensue  upon  their  execution. 

I  have  thus,  gentlemen,  complied  so  far  with  the  promise  I  made 
through  your  columns  the  6th  of  December  last,  by  discussing  in  a 
hasty  manner  the  interesting  topics  which  presented  themselves  to 
my  mind  as  matters  of  public  concern.  For  the  kind  indulgence 
with  which  you  have  so  long  given  me  no  small  space  in  your 
crowded  journal,  you  have  my  warmest  thanks.  That  indulgence 
I  will  have  to  claim  for  some  numbers  more,  deeming  it  important 
that  I  should  enter  upon  the  examination  of  certain  other  topics  of 
much  moment  to  the  people  of  this  Republic,  and  to  this  commu- 
nity in  particular. 

I  have,  therefore,  in  compliance  with  the  engagement  I  entered 
into  with  my  readers,  given  a  sketch  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
National  Institute.  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  its  birth  was 
auspicious,  its  motives  and  ends  pure  and  practicable,  its  operations 
of  general  benefit.  I  have  strived  to  prove  that,  being  purely 
National  and  American,  the  Institute  had  a  claim  on  the  notice  and 
patronage  of  Government  and  the  people ;  that  it  has  received  the 
approbation  of  some  of  the  first  men  at  home  and  abroad,  and  that 
it  contains  within  itself  all  the  elements  of  usefulness  if  fostered 
and  allowed  a  theatre  for  their  operation.  I  have  brought  the  best 
evidence  of  the  present  precarious  and  needy  state  of  that  Institu- 
tion, and  indicated  a  feasible  and  easy  way  of  giving  the  assistance 
it  so  imperiously  requires  and  so  richly  deserves.  I  have  written 
on  the  subject  of  the  Smithsonian  Bequest,  given  its  history  and  its 
present  discreditable  and  neglected  condition.  The  opinions  of 
distinguished  men  have  been  cited  to  show  that  this  neglect  of  a 
solemn  duty  on  the  part  of  the  great  trustee,  our  National  Legisla- 
ture, is  a  reproach  to  the  country,  and  a  stain  that  should  be  wiped 
off  without  delay.  I  have  referred  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  do 
something  in  the  matter  to  Rush,  Adams,  Wayiand,  Preston,  &c., 
for  the  mode  of  carrying  out  the  will  of  the  testator,  and  ventured 
upon  sundry  suggestions  of  my  own,  which  can  be  seen  by  refe- 
rence to  my  letters.  I  have  endeavored  to  draw  the  attention  of 


Congress  to  the  subject  of  providing  a  proper  place  for  the  statue 
of  Washington,  and  of  encouraging  the  fine  arts  by  connecting 
with  it  a  national  gallery  for  paintings,  statuary,  and  architectural 
designing. 

I  have  urged  the  expediency  and  policy  of  rescuing  the  Mall 
from  its  present  state  of  degradation,  and  of  ornamenting  it  at  least 
with  the  different  trees  of  this  countiy,  and  protecting  it  with  a 
decent  enclosure.  This  would  be  performing  a  part  at  least  of  the 
duties  which  Congress  owe  to  the  people  at  large  and  this  city,  in 
the  matter  of  the  public  grounds  and  buildings.  And  although  I 
trust  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  that  beautiful  reservation  will 
be  made  a  worthy  ornament  of  the  national  metropolis  by  the  erec- 
tion of  statues,  the  digging  of  reservoirs,  the  construction  of  foun- 
tains, and  making  of  avenues  and  walks,  yet  we  would  be  content 
for  the  present  with  the  provisions  on  the  subject  in  Mr.  Pratt's  re- 
port first  referred  to.  Having  given  facts  and  indulged  in  specula- 
tion on  all  these  interesting  subjects,  I  concluded  my  last  letter  by 
brief  sketches  of  the  Depot  of  Charts  and  Instruments,  and  the 
Observatory  at  Georgetown  College,  both  of  which  establishments 
are  in  the  highest  degree  worthy  of  public  notice  and  support,  and 
add  so  much  to  the  attractions  of  the  District. 

I  hope  that  the  discussion  of  these  matters  has  not  been  found 
unnecessarily  protracted,  and  that  some  light  has  been  cast  by  my 
humble  instrumentality  upon  topics  which  should  interest  more  or 
less  every  intelligent  and  patriotic  citizen  of  the  Republic.  If  I 
have  succeeded  in  giving  any  information  or  pleasure  in  aiding  the 
march  of  mind,  it  matters  not  how  little,  I  have  been  more  than 
rewarded.  My  object  has  been  purely  to  suggest  something  which 
might  benefit  my  native  city,  and  thus  be  of  service  ultimately  to 
the  country.  My  hopes  are  not  great,  my  expectations  by  no 
means  sanguine.  But  I  know  that  truth  is  powerful  and  must  pre- 
vail. I  bide  my  time,  and  cast  my  bread  upon  the  waters,  having 
no  other  interest  in  the  subject  than  that  which  every  true  citizen 
should  feel.  1  feel  that  the  realization  of  my  hopes  is  not  so  quix- 
otical  or  improbable  as  at  first  I  was  induced  to  imagine.  Public 
men,  in  high  places,  are  moving  in  the  matter,  and  I  please  myself 
with  the  anticipation  of  the  time  when  most  of  these  things  shall 
come  to  pass,  and  Washington  be  made  what  it  was  intended  to  be 
9 


by  the  Father  of  the  Republic,  and  its  great  founder  and  namesake, 
the  pride  and  glory  of  a  great  Republic. 

What  a  contrast  to  the  indifference  exhibited  by  our  own  Govern- 
ment on  the  subject  of  learning  and  intellectual  improvement  is  the 
liberal  conduct  of  one  which  we  are  taught  to  look  upon  as  barba- 
rian ! 

"  Education,"  says  the  author  of  l  The  Chinese  as  they  are,' 
u  from  what  has  been  already  said  as  forming  the  only  path  to  dis- 
tinction and  eminence,  and  as  inculcated  in  all  their  works,  it  wil* 
readily  be  supposed,  is  an  object  of  primary  importance  among  the 
Chinese.  Nor  is  it  limited  or  confined  to  one  class,  but  is  generally 
extended.  Its  importance  was  recognised,  and  was  so  well  known 
in  China,  that  a  work  written  before  the  Christian  era  speaks  of  the 
'ancient  system  of  instruction,'  which  required  that  every  town  and 
village,  down  to  a  few  families,  should  have  a  common  school. 
Jlnd  it  is  worthy  of  remark  how  the  general  peace  and  prosperity  of 
China  has  been  promoted  by  the  diffusion  of  intelligence  and  edu- 
cation throughout  all  classes. 

"  Strict  examinations,  regulated  by  a  fixed  code  of  laws,  have 
been  instituted,  designed  solely  to  elicit  this  *  true  talent.'  At 
these  examinations,  which  are  open  for  all,  it  is  decided  who  shall 
rise  to  distinction,  and  confer  honor  on  himself  and  his  descendants, 
and  who  shall  live  on  and  be  forgotten. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  second  trial  seventy-two  are  selected  of  the 
most  intelligent  out  of  the  10,000  assembled  from  the  province, 
(speaking  of  Canton,)  and  an  equal  number  from  each  of  the  other 
provinces,  making  in  all  about  1,300  for  the  whole  empire.  The 
fortunate  persons  are  then  publicly  announced,  and  handbills  are 
circulated  far  and  wide,  not  only  for  the  information  of  the  candi- 
dates themselves,  but  also  of  their  parents  and  kindred,  who  re- 
ceive titles  and  honors  in  common  with  these  favored  relatives. 
Presents  are  then  made  to  the  triumphant  scholars,  and  splendid 
apparel  provided  for  them,  so  that  they  soon  become  rich  and 
great.  To-day  they  are  dwelling  in  an  humble  cottage,  and  to- 
morrow they  are  introduced  to  the  palaces  of  the  powerful,  and 
every  where  received  with  the  greatest  honor. 

'•'-  The  advantages  of  this  system  are  evident.  Caste  is  by  this 
means  abolished.  No  privileged  order  is  tolerated  ;  wealth  and  ranL 
are  unavailing  to  procure  advancement,  and  the  poor  are  enabled  by 


exertion  to  obtain  the  highest  distinctions.  Each  etrains  for  the  praise 
which  is  thus  accessible.  They  say  of  Shan,  who  was  raised  to 
the  throne  by  his  talents  and  virtues  :  c  Shan  was  a  man  ;  I  also 
am  a  man;  if  1  do  but  exert  myself  I  may  be  as  great  as  he.' 
The  stimulus  thus  given  to  energetic  perseverance  is  immense,  and 
the  effect  in  encouraging  learning  incalculable. 

"  One  of  the  most  remarkable  national  peculiarities  of  the  Chi- 
nese, observes  Sir  George  Stanton,  '  is  their  extraordinary  addic- 
tion to  letters,  the  general  prevalence  of  literary  habits,  and  the 
honorable  pre-emption  which,  from  the  most  remote  period,  has 
been  universally  conceded  to  that  class  exclusively  devoted  to  lite- 
rary pursuits.' 

"  Even  now,  2,300  years  after  the  death  of  Confucius,  several 
individuals  recognised  as  the  actual  heirs  and  representatives  of  the 
sage  are  decorated  with  honorary  distinction,  and  maintained  in  a 
state  of  respectable  independence  at  the  public  charge." 

My  readers  will,  I  trust,  excuse  me  for  the  length  of  this  extract. 
I  deemed  it  so  pertinent  to  the  points  which  I  have  so  ardently 
urged  upon  the  public  attention,  so  rich  in  interest  and  instruction, 
that  I  ventured  upon  quoting  more  than  the  length  or  nature  of  my 
letters  might  seem  to  allow.  Although  it  is  neither  asked  nor  ex- 
pected that  our  Government  or  people  should  imitate  the  example 
thus  set  them  by  a  nation  which  we  cannot  contend  with  in  such 
matters,  yet  some  lessons  may  be  learned  from  the  spectacle  of  this 
glorious  republic  of  letters  in  that  old  and  curious  empire,  with 
which  we  are  now  beginning  an  intercourse  calculated  to  benefit  us 
in  other  ways  than  commercially. 

I  propose,  gentlemen,  to  discuss  the  following  points  in  my  en- 
suing numbers :  I  will  endeavor  to  show,  1st.  That  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  the  acts  of  Congress  in  virtue  and 
pursuance  thereof  have  made  this  District  the  permanent  seat  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  therefore  nothing  but  an  alteration 
to  that  effect  in  the  Constitution  can  change  it.  2d.  That  so  far 
from  having  done  too  much  for  this  city,  Congress  have  not  exer- 
cised that  full  liberality  and  justice  which  policy  and  the  rights  of 
its  inhabitants  demand.  3d.  That  this  city  being  the  metropolis  of 
the  nation,  and  therefore  national  property,  the  people  of  this 
country  should  feel  directly  interested  in  its  improvement.  And, 
4th.  To  insist,  therefore,  upon  a  change  of  policy  in  its  legislation 


towards  this  city  and  District  on  the  part  of  the  great  council  of 
the  nation,  every  member  of  which  should  consider  himself  our 
immediate  representative. 

For  the  present  I  remain,  yours,  truly, 

J.  C.  B, 

THE  DUTIES  AND  RELATIONS  OF  CONGRESS  TO  THE  CITY  OF 
WASHINGTON. 

LKTTER  No.  XIV. 

WASHINGTON,  Jipril  15,  1844. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  announced  in  my  last  my  intention  to  discuss 
the  folio-wing-  points:  1st.  That  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  act  of  Congress  in  pursuance  thereof,  made  this 
District  the  permanent  seat  of  the  Federal  Government,- and,  there- 
fore, nothing  but  an  alteration  to  that  effect  in  the  Constitution  can 
change  it.  2d.  That  so  far  from  having  done  too  much  for  this 
city,  Congress  have  not  exercised  that  full  liberality  and  justice 
which  policy  and  the  rights  of  ils  inhabitants  demand.  3d.  That 
this  city  being  the  metropolis  of  the  nation,  and  therefore,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  national  property,  the  people  of  this  country  should 
feel  directly  interested  in  its  improvement.  And,  in  the  fourth 
place,  to  insist  upon  a  change  of  policy  in  its  legislation  towards 
this  city  and  District,  on  the  part  of  the  Great  Council  of  the  nation, 
every  member  of  which  should  consider  himself  our  immediate 
representative,  and  bound,  therefore,  to  watch  over  and  foster  our 
interests. 

In  the  discussion  o-f  these  interesting  and  important  topics,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  be  as  brief  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  will  admit. 
Before  proceeding  to  that  discussion  I  would  observe,  that  it  is 
not  because  I  entertain  any  apprehension-  o-f  any  existing  intention 
on  ike  part  of  Congress  or  the  people  to  have  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment removed,  or  because,  if  such  intention'  actually  did  exist, 
there  could  be  any  reasonable  anticipation  of  its  being  successful, 
that  I  venture  into  the  arena,  but  inasmuch  as  attempts  have  been 
made  at  divers  times,  from  motives  more  or  less  local  and  selfish, 
to  have  such  a  change  carried  into  effect,  I  deem  it  well,  in  view 
of  any  similar  attempts  of  the  kind  for  the  future,  to  throw  together 
a  few  desultory  and  hurried  observations  on  this  important  subject, 


69 

and  to  warn  those  whom  it  concerns  against  the  bad  results  of  such 
an  action. 

The  authority  under  which  Congress  subsequently  designated 
and  accepted  these  ten  miles  square  as  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  is  to  be  found  in  section  8,  1st  article 
of  the  Constitution,  and  reads  as  follows:  "  Congress  shall  have 

*  power  'to  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
1  over  such  District^  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square,}  as  may,  by  ces- 
(  sion  of  particular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become 
'  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like 

*  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legisla- 
1  ture  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of 
1  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock  yards,  and  other  useful  buildings,' 
1  and  'to  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 

*  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  pow- 
'  ers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United 
'  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof.'  " 

Maryland  having,  by  act  passed  23d  December,  1788,  authorized 
her  representatives  in  Congress  to  cede  to  the  United  States,  for  the 
seat  of  Government,  any  district  in  the  State  not  exceeding  ten 
miles  square;  and  Virginia,  imitating  the  example,  by  act  of  3d 
December,  1789,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  pursuance 
of  the  foregoing  section  of  the  Constitution,  signified  its  acceptance 
of  the  said  cession,  by  act  passed  16th  July,  1790,  entitled  "An  act 
for  establishing  the  temporary  and  permanent  seat  of  Government 
of  the  United  States,"  the  1st  section  whereof  reads  as  follows  : 
"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
'  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  That  a  district  of  territory  not 
'  exceeding  ten  miles  square,  to  be  located  as  hereafter  directed  on 
c  the  river  Potomac,  at  some  space  between  the  mouths  of  the 
'  Eastern  Branch  and  Conogocheague,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby, 
c  accepted  for  the  permanent  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
1  States."  The  final  cession  of  her  portion  of  this  District  by  Mary- 
land was  made  by  act  passed  19th  December,  1791. 

It  may  be  well  to  remark,  before  proceeding  further,  that  the 
word  "temporary"  in  the  title  of  the  act,  refers  to  Philadelphia, 
whither  the  Government  was  to  be  removed  from  New  York,  where 
it  then  was  located,  there  to  sojourn  until  the  first  Monday  of  No- 
vember, 1800,  when  it  was  to  be  transported  to  the  District  so 


70 

selected.  To  this  consecutive  action,  then,  of  the  Constitution,  the 
States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  this  growing"  and  well  located  metropolis  of  a  great  nation 
owes  its  existence. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  inquire  whether  Congress  have  it  in  their 
power,  by  the  operation  of  a  simple  majority,  and  by  summary  pro- 
cess, to  transfer  the  seat  of  Government  thus  called  into  being  by  the 
Constitution.  An  attempt  which,  independent  of  a  direct  violation 
of  that  instrument,  would  inevitably  arouse  and  fan  into  a  flame 
those  sectional  and  local  feelings,  against  the  direful  effects  of  which 
the  country  has  been  so  touchingly  and  wisely  cautioned  by  the 
farewell  address  of  the  "Pater  Patriffi." 

I  contend  that  Congress  was  merely  employed  as  the  agent 
through  which  the  negotiation  between  the  States  and  the  Federal 
Government  should  first  be  carried  on,  and  the  selection  and  ar- 
rangements for  its  permanent  residence  should  be  afterwards  effect- 
ed; that  all  the  power  to  be  exercised  under  the  section  just  quoted, 
being  derived  from  the  same  and  no  other  quarter  whatever,  it  is 
necessarily  restrained,  limited,  and  explained  thereby,  and  by 
nothing  else ;  and,  lastly,  that  the  authority  vested  in  the  premises 
ceased  and  died  when  the  object  contemplated  by  the  Constitution 
was  carried  into  execution,  the  territory  selected,  and  the  Govern- 
ment actually  established.  It  follows,  from  all  this,  that  no  act  of 
Congress  can  bring  back  life  into  a  measure  which  has  worked  out 
its  mission,  thus  usurping  creative  powers  belonging  exclusively  to 
a  higher  authority — the  Constitution ;  that  instrument  merely  as- 
signed to  its  agent  the  task  of  accepting  the  necessary  territory,  of 
establishing  its  location,  metes,  and  boundaries,  and  of  exercising 
exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  tract  so  ceded;  and  not  one  word  in 
that  section  will  authorize  the  conclusion  that  Congress,  by  the  act 
of  a  mere  majority,  can  frustrate  the  original  designs  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  Republic,  by  removing  the  metropolis  so  solemnly  establish- 
ed and  protected. 

It  is  evident  that  whenever  one  individual  receives  a  certain 
commission  from  another,  the  party  so  undertaking  to  execute  the 
same  is  bound,  if  he  be  honest,  competent,  and  faithful,  to  follow 
the  instructions  that  may  have  been  given  for  his  guidance.  Apply 
this  rule  to  the  present  case,  and  it  is  equally  evident  that  the  duties 
assigned  by  the  Constitution  to  Congress  are  clear,  positive,  and  re- 


strictive.  Certain  powers  were  given,  certain  acts  required,  and 
Congress,  in  the  execution  of  this  commission,  was  confined  within 
fixed  limits,  was  to  accept  a  specified  amount  of  territory,  and  by 
the  acceptance,  and  the  act  establishing  a  permanent  seat  of  Gov- 
ernment, in  accordance  with  the  requisitions  of  the  Constitution, 
bound  itself  to  that  instrument,  to  Maryland  and  Virginia,  the  own- 
ers, purchasers,  and  inhabitants  of  the  District  in  question,  and  the 
people  at  large,  by  a  positive  engagement,  to  make  the  metropolis 
of  the  Union  durable  and  unchangeable.  Besides  these  evident 
facts,  that  Congress  was,  is,  and  must  be  restricted  by  the  article 
under  and  by  virtue  whereof  the  powers,  capacity,  and  acts  neces- 
sary in  the  premises  are  vested  and  exercised,  that  so  far  as  the 
selection  of  a  seat  of  Government  was  concerned,  its  power  ceased 
with  the  execution  of  the  agency,  and  cannot  be  revived  other 
than  by  the  original  creator,  the  Constitution ;  and  that  the  obliga- 
tions incurred  with  the  two  grantors  aforesaid,  and  the  original 
proprietors,  purchasers,  and  inhabitants,  are  sacred  and  binding, 
the  following  reflection  is  worthy  of  consideration.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  word  "permanent"  in  the  act  of  16th  July,  1790,  in 
contradistinction  to  "  temporary"  in  the  caption  of  said  act,  is,  in 
my  opinion,  to  be  considered  and  rendered  as  conclusive  against 
any  further  action  for  removing  the  present  seat  of  Government  on 
the  part  of  that  body.  We  learn  from  lexicographers  that  the  word 
"permanent"  means  durable;  not  decaying — unchanged;  li per- 
manency," "  continuance  in  the  same  state;"  "  temporary,"  on  the 
other  hand,  is  rendered  as  u  lasting  only  for  a  limited  time."  Now, 
Congress,  by  the  aforesaid  act,  made  Philadelphia  an  intermediate 
stage  for  a  limited  sojourn  of  ten  years,  until  the  ultimate,  durable, 
and  unchanging  residence  contemplated  for  the  Government  should 
be  prepared  and  ready  to  receive  it.  The  distinction  made  between 
Philadelphia  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  shows  us  at  once  the 
"animus"  of  those  who  legislated  at  New  York — those  who  were 
concerned  in  passing  the  act  of  1790,  knew  the  English  language 
as  well,  at  least,  as  legislators  of  the  present  day.  Their  intentions 
are  to  be  inferred  from  the  language  they  used,  and  that  language 
admits  of  no  misconception  or  misrepresentation;  they  meant  what 
they  said  ;  and  not  having  vested  in  Congress  the  right  to  remove 
the  Government  at  will,  by  any  word  or  hint  to  be  found  in  the 
article  in  question,  of  course  it  was  never  intended  that  they  should 


so  exercise  it.  The  absence  of  such  permission  necessarily  excludes 
the  power  to  change.  The  injunction  by  law  to  do  anything,  as  a 
matter  of  course  implies  that  the  contrary  is  forbidden.  If  Congress 
have  the  privilege  of  originating  any  measure  having  in  view  a 
change  in  the  seat  of  Government,  that  power  either  comes  from 
the  Constitution  or  from  themselves;  but,  if  from  the  Constitution, 
it  would  appear  in  that  instrument,  which  is  not  the  case;  therefore 
the  power  is  not  derived  from  the  Constitution.  If  Congress  get 
the  power  from  themselves,  then  they  are  superior  to  the  Constitu- 
tion and  paramount  in  the  land.  But  the  Constitution  is  received 
as  the  law  of  the  land,  and  in  certain  limits  is  undeniably  para- 
mount, as  in  the  present  case ;  therefore  Congress  do  not  receive 
the  power  from  themselves.  If,  then,  it  be  the  fact,  as  it  undenia- 
bly is,  that  the  Constitution  created  the  power  exhausted  by  the 
selection  of  the  proper  site,  &c.,  (that  of  legislation  still  existing 
and  exercised,)  and  that  the  great  Council  of  the  nation  is  restricted 
in  its  operations  in  the  premises,  it  follows  that  there  is  no  possible 
mode  of  changing  the  section  in  question  than  by  the  constitutional 
means  prescribed  by  that  instrument  itself. 

It  was  their  reliance  and  confidence  in  the  solemn  engagements 
of  Congress,  as  set  forth  in  the  act  of  1790,  and  in  the  protecting 
aegis  of  the  Constitution,  that  induced  the  States  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia  to  make  the  liberal  cession  and  donations  whereby  this 
District  was  to  some  extent  created.  It  was  from  the  same  motives 
and  inducements  that  the  original  proprietors  stripped  themselves 
of  their  land,  and  proved  themselves  men  of  high  public  spirit  and 
generosity.  It  was  this  confidence  that  persuaded  people  to  come 
hither,  and  invest  their  labor  and  money,  to  stand  or  fall  with  the 
progress  or  misfortunes  of  their  new  homes.  Had  the  States,  pro- 
prietors, and  purchasers  been  aware  that  the  important  subject  of  a 
change  of  the  seat  of  Government  would  be  considered  a  question 
"sub  judice,"  an  open  question  for  the  experiments  of  selfish  and 
ill-judging  politicians,  I  feel  assured  that  no  such  alacrity  and  lib- 
erality would  have  been  evinced,  but  that  instead  of  willing  par- 
ties, Congress  would  have  found  them  reluctant  and  difficult  of 
persuasion.  If  the  growth  of  this  metropolis  and  the  interests  of 
this  District  have  been  retarded,  the  cause,  it  seems  to  me,  is,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  to  be  discovered  in  the  attempts  made  at 
several  times  to  remove  the  seat  of  Government,  and  to  a  certain 


degree   of  apprehension  now  prevailing  here  and  elsewhere  that 
such  attempts  may  be  repeated. 

I  want  this  subject  laid  at  rest,  and  that  the  people  at  large 
should  feel  convinced  of  the  following  points :  1st.  That  the  Con- 
stitution gave  Congress  limited  powers  in  the  premises,  and  that 
body,  as  a  mere  agent,  is  bound  by  instructions  and  limitations, 
and  can,  under  no  circumstances,  exercise  more  authority  than  is 
given  to  that  effect  by  the  Constitution.  2d.  That  a  change  of  the 
seat  of  Government  would  be  a  violation  of  the  implied  contra  c 
between  the  Federal  Government  and  the  States  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  which  never  would  have  made  the  necessary  grants  had 
notpermanencybeen  guarantied  by  solemnact  of  Congress.  3d.  That 
the  rights  and  reasonable  expectations  of  the  original  proprietors, 
the  purchasers,  and  inhabitants  of  this  District  would  be  trifled 
with  and  destroyed  by  such  a  move,  towards  transferring  the  me- 
tropolis elsewhere,  on  the  part  of  those  who  falsely  imagine  them- 
selves clothed  with  the  necessary  power  and  capacity. 

In  my  next,  gentlemen,  I  shall  say  a  few  words  on  the  expedi- 
ency and  policy  of  keeping  the  seat  of  Government  where  it  now 
is,  and  ever  should  be,  and  then  endeavor  to  show  that,  so  far  from 
having  done  too  much  for  this  city,  Congress  have  not  exercised 
that  full  liberality  and  justice  which  policy  and  the  rights  of  the 
inhabitants  demand. 

Until  then  I  remain,  as  usual,  yours,  truly, 

J.  C.  B. 


THE  DUTIES  AND  RELATIONS   OF    CONGRESS   TO   THE    CITY   OF 
WASHINGTON. 

LETTER  No.  XV. 

WASHINGTON,  dpril  29,  1844. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  trust  that  I  have  succeeded  in  establishing  the 
points  I  made  in  my  last  number :  1st.  That  the  Constitution  and 
the  acts  of  Congress,  in  pursuance  of  the  privileges  and  directions 
thereby  given  and  prescribed,  completely  protect  the  present  seat 
of  Government,  and  forbid  any  interference,  direct  or  indirect,  with 
the  subject,  except  by  the  usual  mode  for  altering  an  article  of  that 
Constitution.  2d.  That  the  implied  engagements  between  the 
Federal  Government  and  the  States  of  Virginia  and  Maryland;  the 
10 


74 

meaning1  and  established  acceptation  of  the  word  (( permanent," 
used  by  the  act  of  Congress  referred  to,  and  the  understanding  with 
the  original  proprietors,  in  the  first  place,  and  the  subsequent  and 
still  existing  obligations  of  the  Government  with  the  citizens  of  the 
District,  in  the  second,  all  serve,  in  the  most  positive  and  clear 
manner,  to  show  that  the  foundations  of  this  metropolis  must  be 
durable  and  unchanging.  If  I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  sustain 
my  propositions,  it  follows  that  it  is  idle,  inexpedient,  impolitic, 
and  unconstitutional,  even  to  broach  the  subject  in  Congress,  the 
matter  not  being  within  the  jurisdiction  of  that  body.  All  the  at- 
tempts, therefore,  that  have  been  made  to  effect  a  removal,  were 
in  opposition  to  the  words  and  meaning  of  the  Constitution,  and 
the  unwarrantable  interference  of  persons  having  no  concern  or 
power  in  the  premises.  If,  then,  it  be  the  fact  that  such  was  the 
character  of  attempts  of  the  kind  in  past  times,  it  follows,  of 
course,  that  the  same  objections  must  attach  to  any  move  of  that 
description  for  the  future. 

If  the  subject  of  removal  be  fenced  round  and  protected,  even 
from  discussion  in  Congress,  by  the  Constitution,  and  the  other 
reasons  I  have  hurriedly  proposed,  it  is  equally  clear  that  any  at- 
tempt at  retrocession  is  open  to  the  same  objections.  It  being  esta- 
blished that  no  other  power  than  the  Constitution  can  effect  a 
removal,  it  must  strike  every  reflecting  mind  that  Congress  should 
not,  and  cannot,  alienate  any  portion  of  the  District;  for  the  Con- 
stitution protects  the  whole,  and  forbids  any  action  whatever  in  the 
matter,  except  by  its  direction,  or  by  a  change  made  constitutionally 
in  the- article  calling  this  District  into  being.  But  no  such  direction 
having  been  given,  nor  such  change  made,  it  follows  that  neither 
Congress,  nor  any  other  power  than  that  of  the  Constitution,  can 
effect  such  retrocession,  in  part  or  in  whole.  Those  who  have  de- 
sired, or  who  may  desire,  a  removal  of  the  seat  of  Government  or  a 
retrocession,  do  not,  and  cannot,  go  to  the  Constitution  for  their 
power.  They  think  that  a  mere  act  of  Congress  is  sufficient  for  the 
purpose,  without  appealing  to  the  means  provided  for  by  that  glo- 
rious charter  of  our  freedom,  when  it  is  attempted  to  change  any 
of  its  articles  or  stipulations.  And  I  ask,  in  all  fairness,  whether 
such  a  course  is  respectful  to  the  Constitution,  justice  to  the  people, 
or  a  good  precedent  to  set  in  a  matter  of  so  much  public  interest 
and  importance,  as  the  unealled  for  intermeddling  with  constitu 


75 

tional  pledges,  injunctions,  and  guaranties?  If  it  be  wrong  to  re- 
transfer  the  whole  District  to  the  original  owners,  Maiyland  and 
Virginia,  and  to  remove  the  seat  of  Government,  I  ask  can  it  be 
less  wrong  and  unconstitutional  to  cede  back  a  portion?  If  the  sub- 
ject be,  as  it  is,  protected  against  the  unwarranted  interference  of 
Congress,  by  the  Constitution  and  the  act  of  Congress  itself,  I  should 
like  to  know,  how  can  the  right  be  asserted  of  being  authorized  to 
fritter  a\vay  the  District;  thus  doing  by  piece-meal  what  cannot  be 
effected  by  the  whole? 

But  even  granting,  by  way  of  argument,  that  Congress  may,  and 
can,  of  its  own  power  and  innate  capacity  in  this  matter,  originate 
and  carry  into  effect  an  act  for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment, I  ask  whether  it  be  consistent  with  the  Constitution,  or  a  re- 
publican form  of  administration,  to  take  advantage  of  the  fact  that 
the  citizens  of  this  District  are  not  directly  represented  in  Congress, 
and  transfer  them  to  and  fro  without  their  consent,  and  even  against 
their  wishes  and  interests?  If  such  be  the  case,  then  I  understand 
liberty,  the  representative  system,  the  checks,  and  advantages  of  a 
republican  form  of  Government,  and  the  Constitution  by  which  we 
live  and  have  our  being,  in  a  manner  too  large  and  liberal  even  for 
this  liberal  country  of  ours.  If  I  have  been  taught  aright,  I  have 
learned  that  the  principal  cause  of  the  separation  of  the  then 
colonies  from  the  mother  country,  is  to  be  found  in  reasoning  the 
very  reverse  to  that  urged  by  these  friends  of  Congressional  om- 
nipotence. Our  fathers  asserted,  and  in  support  of  that  assertion 
pledged  their  "lives,  fortunes,  and  sacred  honor,"  that  taxes  and 
burdens  imposed  upon  them  by  a  Parliament  where  they  had  no 
voice  or  influence,  were  illegal  and  oppressive.  That  those  great, 
wise,  and  good  men  who  achieved  our  freedom  did  right,  I  suppose 
no  one,  at  least  who  lives  under  the  institutions  they  wrote,  fought, 
and  bled  for,  will  dare  to  deny.  Now  I  ask  you,  members  of  Con- 
gress, and  fellow-citizens,  are  you  ready  to  act  in  the  matter  of  the 
removal  or  retrocession  of  the  District,  or  a  part  thereof,  as  did  the 
bad  men  who  in  the  last  century  directed  the  destinies  of  Great 
Britain?  Are  you  prepared  to  violate  the  Constitution,  trille  with 
the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation,  do  an  injury  to  Maryland  and  Vir_ 
ginia,  and  set  at  defiance  the  protests,  wishes,  and  prayers  of  those 
who  have  settled  in  these  Ten  Miles  Square,  confiding  in  the  pro- 
tection of  that  sacred  instrument  and  the  good  failh  of  the  Govern- 


76 

menl?  If  so,  then  let  the  issue  be  joined  at  once.  I  am  half  in- 
clined to  believe  it  better  to  have  the  subject  decided,  even  although 
we  be  the  victims  of  such  gross  injustice,  than  to  keep  Congres- 
sional omnipotency  in  the  premises,  suspended  over  our  devoted 
heads,  like  the  sword  of  Damocles,  by  a  hair.  Suspense  is  always 
painful — uncertainty  always  a  check  upon  enterprise,  and  a  barrier 
to  .improvement.  The  citizens  of  this  much  neglected  and  abused 
District  have  a  right  to  ask  that  you  will  respect  the  Constitution, 
and  confess,  candidly  and  at  once,  that  the  matter  has  been  ex- 
pressly put  by  that  instrument  beyond  the  control  and  jurisdiction 
of  the  Representatives  of  the  people  at  the  Capitol.  My  word  for 
it,  if  once  it  be  established  that  no  process,  other  than  that  pre- 
scribed by  the  Constitution,  can  remove  the  seat  of  Government 
from  this  District,  a  new  impetus  will  be  given  to  its  progress  and 
prosperity — a  new  era  will  dawn  upon  its  fortunes. 

The  remarks  of*the  editor  of  the  National  Intelligencer  in  1814, 
when  the  subject  of  a  temporary  removal  of  the  seat  of  Government 
was  before  Congress,  apply  with  so  much  more  force  to  any  attempt 
at  a  permanent  one,  that  I  feel  myself  called  upon  to  appropriate 
them  in  the  present  case.  He  says:  "To  circumscribe  this  ques- 
'  tion  by  the  narrow  limits  of  this  city,  or  of  these  Ten  Miles  Square, 

*  to  consider  it  only  in  relation  to  its  injurious,  if  not  ruinous,  influ- 
<  ence  on  the  people  of  this  city  and  District,  or  even  on  the  ad- 

*  joining  population  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  is  to  place  it  in  the 
1  most  obscure  and  feeble  light  in  which  it  can  be  viewed.     The 
1  interests  of  the  Union  are  involved  in  it;  it  was  a  question  as  in- 

*  teresting  to  the  Province  of  Maine  as  to  the  State  of  Georgia. 
1  The  seat  of  Government  was  solemnly  located  with  a  view  to  its 

*  central  position,  and  to  other  circumstances  intimately  connected 
4  with  certain  early  acts  of  the  Government  which  entered  into  the 
(  compact  or  compromise  in  consequence  of  which  the  seat  of  Go- 
f  vernment  was  settled  heie.     To  remove  it  now,  would  be  almost 
1  to  deracinate  the  principle  of  several  of  the  most  important  of  the 
1  first  acts  of  the  Government,  and  would  have  warranted  their  ab- 
(  rogation,  if  a  majority  could  be  found  so  regardless  of  the  honor 

*  and  good  faith  of  the  nation  as  to  have  sanctioned  it." 

The  remarks  of  Governeur  Morris,  whose  authority  in  such  mat- 
ters must'be  respected  as  of  great  weight,  apply  also  so  directly  to 
the  subject  I  am  treating,  that  I  will  make  use  of  them  for  my  pur- 


77 

poses.     Speaking  on  the  repeal  of  the  Judiciary  act,  he  observes : 
"When  you  have  by  law  created  apolitical  existence,  can  you,  by 

*  repealing  the  law,  dissolve  the  corporation  you  had  made?     No; 
1  when  you  make  a  contract,  you  are  bound  by  it.   When  you  make 

*  a  promise  you  must  perform  it ;  the  Constitution  says  you  shall 

*  make  no  ex  post  facto  law." 

Now  the  seat  of  Government  is  a  political  existence,  therefore  it 
cannot  be  dissolved.  There  are  contracts  with  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia, the  people  of  the  United  States,  the  original  proprietors,  and 
the  citizens  of  this  District,  therefore  the  country  and  Congress  are 
bound  by  them.  No  ex  post  facto  law  can  be  constitutionally  pass- 
ed; but  a  removal  of  the  metropolis  or  a  retrocession  would  be 
ex  post  facto,  therefore  no  such  act  can  be  passed  without  violating 
the  Constitution. 

I  believe  with  that  fast  friend  of  this  District,  the  late  much  re- 
gretted Hon.  Joseph  Pearson,  of  North  Carolina,  jvhen  he  exclaim- 
ed on  the  floor  of  Congress,  "the  Fathers  of  the  Republic  intended 
1  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  should,  when 
1  established,  be  as  perpetual  as  the  union  of  these  States,  as  dura- 
i  ble  as  the  Constitution  itself." 

In  proving  the  unconstitutionality,  illegality,  and  injustice  of  any 
attempt  at  a  removal  or  retrocession  of  this  District,  in  part  or  in 
whole,  I  have  almost  rendered  any  remarks  on  the  subject  of  inex- 
pediency superfluous.  But  let  a  few  suffice.  If  the  people  of 
heathen  Athens  barkened  to  the  advice  of  Aristides,  when  he  ex- 
claimed, speaking  of  a  certain  measure,  that  "it  was  expedient  but 
nothing  more  unjust,"  I  cannot  for  a  moment  suppose  that  in  a 
Christian  country  expediency  will  be  preferred  to  justice. 

Let  those  who  have  the  might,  but  not  the  right,  be  cautious 
how  they  desecrate  the  spot  hallowed  by  the  choice  and  the  name 
of  the  father  of  his  country!  Let  those  who,  from  sinister  or  other 
motives,  desire  a  removal  reflect,  that  here,  centuries  ago,  an  im- 
aginative pioneer  of  civilization  recalled  the  old  world,  and  the 
glories  of  ancient  Rome,  by  giving  this  region  the  name  of  the  seven- 
hilled  city,  and  christening  the  small  stream  which  flows  in  our 
midst  the  Tiber.  Let  no  rash  man  presume  to  disturb  this  happy 
omen,  for  the  finger  of  Providence  is  visible  in  the  case.  Let  us, 
on  the  contrary,  fondly  hope  that  the  greatness  and  the  power  of 
the  old  mistress  of  the  world,  without  its  crimes,  will  descend  as  an 


78 

inheritance  on  the  spot  honored  with  the  name  of  Washington, 
where  its  former  glories  are  recalled  by  a  Capitol,  a  Senate  of  Con- 
script  Fathers,  and  by  the  existence  of  a  Republic  far  purer  and 
more  enduring  than  the  offspring  of  the  wolf-nursed  children  of 
Rhea— (1.) 

It  would  be  highly  impolitic  and  unwise,  in  my  opinion,  to  excite 
a  political  storm  in  the  country  by  the  agitation  of  the  subject,  and 
it  is  to  aid  in  preventing  such  a  contingency  that  I  warn  my  fellow 
citizens  against  the  danger.  It  would  be  calling  into  existence  all 
the  worst  feelings  of  human  nature,  and  would  add  fresh  fuel  to  the 
flames  of  sectional  interests,  personal  considerations,  and  party 
zeal.  And  even  did  Congress  actually  agree  upon  a  removal,  how 
could  it  possibly  be  settled  where  it  should  be  transferred1?  Is  it  to 
be  imagined  that  the  west,  the  east,  the  north,  and  the  south  will 
not  all  be  anxious  for  the  prize'?  Will  it  not,  therefore,  be  a  strug- 
gle of  the  worst  and  most  direful  character  1  Better  let  well  alone, 
than  flee  to  ills  we  know  not  of.  We  have  a  seat  of  Government 
selected  and  located  by  solemn  act  of  Congress,  under  and  by  virtue 
of  powers  vested  for  the  purpose  by  the  Constitution.  The  District 
so  selected  has  been  ever  since  growing  in  importance,  wealth,  and 
population.  The  Government  has  erected  buildings  for  its  own 
accommodation  at  great  expense,  and  has  many  more  still  to  con- 
struct. Railroads,  steamboats,  and  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph, 
(which  is  now  nearly  completed  as  far  as  Baltimore,  and  for  which 
magnificent  application  of  a  wonderful  power  in  nature  the  thanks 
of  this  country  and  the  world  are  due  to  Professor  Morse,  its  inge- 
nious and  able  inventor,)  have  brought,  and  will  bring  still  more, 
this  city  within  easy  journeys  of  every  section  of  the  Union,  and 
thus  make  mere  distance  a  matter  of  little  moment.  The  city  of 
Washington  is  within  convenient  distance  from  the  seaboard,  and 
therefore  well  suited  for  the  supervision  and  management  of  our 
navy  and  foreign  relations.  The  District  is  protected  from  the 
dangers  of  an  improper  popular  influence  on  the  debates  of  Con- 
gress by  the  vicinity  of  a  dense  and  growing  population,  an  evil 
foreseen  and  guarded  against  by  the  Constitution  when  it  gave  to 
Congress  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  these  Ten  Miles  Square.  The 
tl  Star  of  Empire,"  the  tide  of  emigration  westward  takes  its  way; 
and  if  we  have  a  regard  for  the  stability  of  our  institutions,  the  lo- 
cation of  the  metropolis  of  the  Republic  will  be  ever  kept  at  a 


79 

distance  from  the  chances  of  popular  excitement  and  control.  The 
improvements  in  internal  communications,  whereby  the  expense 
and  duration  of  travel  from  every  quarter  of  the  Union  are  dimin- 
ished almost  to  an  incredible  extent,  more  than  counterbalance  the 
enlargement  of  the  limits  of  population,  and  confirm  the  assertion 
of  Dr.  Patterson,  of  the  United  States  Mint,  at  Philadelphia,  in  his 
interesting-  address  on  the  "Centre  of  Population,"  before  the  late 
Scientific  and  Literary  Convention  of  the  National  Institute  in  this 
city,  that  "  the  choice  of  Washington  as  the  Capitol  of  the  Union 
was  judiciously  made."  Such  being  the  case,  such  the  advantages 
resulting  from  that  judicious  selection,  let  us  be  cautious  how  we 
disturb  the  subject,  and  raise  a  storm  difficult,  to  allay.  Let  the 
spot  hallowed  by  the  name  of  Washington,  and  foreshadowed  as 
the  seat  of  Government  for  the  Great  Republic  of  the  West  by  its 
primitive  names  of  Rome  and  Tiber,  be  deemed  a  holy  thing,  pro- 
tected against  political  pollution  by  all  the  best  feelings  of  our 
nature  as  lovers  of  liberty  and  order. 

Yours,  truly,  &c.,  J.  C.  B. 

(1.)  The  survey  here  referred  to  being  deemed  of  sufficient  interest 
to  be  inserted,  I  have  thought  it  proper  to  give  an  authentic  copy 
made  from  the  original  manuscript  in  the  Mayor's  office  at  the  City 
Hall.  It  is  as  follows  : 

The  following  is  an  authentic  copy  of  the  original  manuscript  in  the  Mayor's  office, 
being  the  survey  thus  referred  to : 

JUNK  5th,  1663. — Laid  out  for  Francis  Pope,  of  this  Province,  gentleman,  a  parcel  of 
land  in  Charles  county  called  Room,  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Anacostia  river,  beginning 
with  a  marked  oak  standing  by  the  river  side,  the  bounded  tree  of  Capt.  Robert  Troop,  and 
running  north  by  the  river  for  breadth  and  length  200  ps.,  to  a  bounded  oak  standing  at  the 
mouth  of  a  bay  or  inlet  called  Tiber;  bounding  on  the  north  by  the  said  belt,  and  line  drawn 
east  for  the  length  of  320  ps.,  to  a  bounded  tree  standing  in  the  woods;  on  the  east,  with  a 
line  drawn  south  from  the  end  of  the  former  line,  until  you  meet  with  the  exterior  bounded 
tree  of  Robt.  Troop,  called  Scotland  Yard ;  on  the  south,  with  the  said  land ;  on  the  west, 
with  the  said  river,  containing,  and  now  laid  out  for,  400  acres,  more  or  less. 

JUNE  5th,  1663. — Laid  out  for  Cap.  Robt.  Troop,  of  this  province,  a  parcel  of  land  in 
Charles  county  called  Scotland  Yard,  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Anacostia  river,  begin- 
ning at  a  bounded  hickory  standing  by  the  river  side,  and  running  north  by  the  river  for 
breadth  the  length  of  250  ps.,  to  a  bounded  oak ;  bounding  on  the  north  with  a  line  drawn 
east  into  the  woods  for  the  length  of  320  ps.,  to  a  bounded  oak ;  on  the  east,  with  a  line 
drawn  south  from  the  end  of  the  former  line,  until  you  intersect  a  parallel  line  drawn  from 
the  first  bounded  hickory ;  on  the  south,  with  the  said  parallel ;  on  the  west,  with  said 
river,  containing,  and  now  laid  out  for,  500  acres,  more  or  less. 

Below  is  written :  Valuable  and  ancient  documents  in  relation  to  the  taking  up  of  the 
tract  of  land  called  Rome,  on  the  site  of  which  now  stands  the  city  of  Washington,  respect- 
fully presented  to  the  Mayor  and  Councils  of  the  city  by 

ROB.  Y.  BRENT. 

APRIL  26,  1837. 


80 

THE  DUTIES  AND  RELATIONS  OF  CONGRESS  TO  THE  CITY  OF  WASH- 
INGTON.—PERSICO'S  STATUES. 

LETTER  No.  XVL 

WASHINGTON,  May  20,  1844. 
GENTLEMEN  :  In  order  to  show  that  Congress  have  exercised  but 
little  liberality  in  their  legislation  towards  this  District  and  city,  I 
beg  leave  to  suggest  the  following  points :  In  the  1st  place,  Gov- 
ernment, by  an  understanding  between  the  parties,  engaged  to  ap- 
ply the  proceeds  of  sales  of  the  public  lots  towards  making  streets, 
bridges,  and  other  improvements,  but  has  almost  entirely  failed  to 
comply  with  said  agreement.  2dly.  Government,  in  addition  to 
the  violation  of  this  understanding,  has  paid  no  taxes  on  its  prop- 
erty, amounting  to  upwards  of  $7,000,000,  and  scarcely  contributed 
any  thing  towards  District  and  city  improvements,  but  has  left,  al- 
though receiving  as  a  gift  from  the  original  proprietors  four-fifths  of 
the  land  covered  by  the 'plan  of  the  city,  about  30  miles  of  streets 
and  bridges,  and  2,000,000  feet  of  paved  way,  to  be  paid  by  self- 
taxation  by  its  citizens.  3dly.  The  plan  of  the  city,  made  by  Gov- 
ernment without  consultation  with  the  settlers,  creating  avenues 
and  streets  100  to  160  feet  wideband  embracing  an  area  of  7,134 
acres,  necessarily  forced  upon  the  inhabitants  the  necessity  of  sup- 
porting great  burdens.  Of  these  7,134  acres,  Government  retained 
as  reservations  4,118  for  streets,  avenues,  &c. ;  and  of  these  7,134 
acres,  paid  the  proprietors  but  for  512,  at  the  rate  of  £25  per  acre, 
and  returned  to  them  half  of  the  building  lots,  (1,058  acres,)  thus 
keeping  5,114  acres  as  a  free  gift.  4thly.  Government  having  the 
right  of  soil  and  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  the  premises,  was  and  is 
bound  in  consequence  to  make  all  necessary  improvements,  and  in 
so  doing,  places  this  city  under  no  particular  pecuniary  obligations, 
but  simply  complies  with  the  dictates  of  duty — equal  benefits  create 
equal  burdens  and  expenditures.  5thly.  As  no  private  efforts  or 
means  could  create  sufficient  accommodations  for  Government  and 
Congress,  by  making  roads,  avenues,  streets,  bridges,  lighting 
streets,  &c.3  &c.,  the  duty  did  and  does  devolve  upon  Congress 
and  the  nation.  6thly.  The  sum  of  $3,638,505  has  been  raised 
from  and  expended  by  this  city,  in  the  benefits  whereof  the  Gov- 
ernment has  had  a  large  share.  7thly.  Had  Government  paid  taxes 
in  due  proportion  from  the  establishment  of  the  Metropolis  to  the 


81 

present  time,  the  amount  so  disbursed  would  be  nearly  $3,000,000. 
This  sum  has  gone  into  the  public  Treasury,  almost  entire,  with 
the  exception  of  the  $10,000  expended  on  macademising  Pennsyl- 
vania avenue,  and  paving  in  front  of,  and  enclosing  its  own  property. 
Sthly.  Although  Government  has  relieved  the  city,  to  some  extent, 
by  taking  off  its  hands  the  principal  of  the  Holland  debt,  upon  the 
hypothecation  of  the  stock  subscribed  by  the  Corporation  in  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,000,  which 
stock  Government  now  holds  as  security,  still  it  evinced  its  confi- 
dence in  said  investment  by  having  taken  a  large  amount  previ_ 
ously,  and,  at  the  time  of  receiving  the  transfer  of  the  corporation 
stock,  was  considered  to  have  got  at  least  an  equivalent  and  good 
security  for  the  advance  in  question.  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  the  interest  paid  by  the  Washington  city  corporation,  up  to 
the  time  of  said  transfer,  must  be  considered  as  so  much  lost,  as 
also  the  interest  paid  on  the  money  borrowed  to  pay  that  interest, 
amounting  to  $700,000.  9thly.  In  addition  to  what  Government 
has  received  from  the  original  proprietors,  and  the  large  extent  of 
ground  it  still  holds  for  public  purposes,  as  a  free  gift,  and  besides 
the  $800,000,  proceeds  of  sales  of  the  building  lots  given  by  their 
owners  for  the  improvement  of  the  city,  it  has  also  accepted 
$120,000  from  Virginia,  and  $72,000  from  Maryland;  the  money  so 
given,  the  sums  collected  since,  and  taxes  remitted,  &c.,  have  all 
been  spent  for  the  benefit  of  distant  sections  of  the  country,  and 
scarcely  any  portion  of  the  proceeds  has  been  disbursed  for  that  of 
this  city.  lOthly.  The  appropriations  for  public  buildings  and 
learned  and  charitable  institutions  within  the  District,  should  not 
be  charged  to  the  account  of  the  city,  for  all  these  improvements 
were  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public  authorities,  and  therefore 
of  national  concern  ;  and  the  philanthropic  acts  of  Congress,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  nation  at  large,  ought  not  to  be  made  a  burden 
upon  the  District. 

My  readers  will  and  must  conclude,  from  the  simple  enumeration 
of  the  foregoing  facts  which  are  matters  of  statistical  and  historical 
accuracy  and  truth,  that  upon  the  settlement  of  the  account  be- 
tween the  General  Government  and  this  District,  a  large  balance 
will  be  found  due  to  the  latter ;  thus  contradicting  most  clearly  the 
assertion  of  its  enemies  in  Congress  and  out,  who  desire  to  place 
its  inhabitants  in  the  attitude  of  mendicants  and  suitors  for  national 
11 


charity  and  support.  To  make  the  position  I  have  taken  still 
stronger,  that  the  people  of  this  District  ask  but  for  what  is  strictly 
and  justly  due  them,  and  that  the  charge  of  mendicity  is  false  and 
libellous,  I  beg  the  serious  and  impartial  attention  of  the  public  to 
the  following  synopsis  of  the  able  report  made  by  the  late  Mr. 
Southard,  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  the  District  of 
Columbia,  on  the  memorial  of  the  corporate  authorities  and  inhab- 
itants of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  that  of  Georgetown.  The 
date  of  the  report  is  February  2,  1835,  vide  23d  Congress,  2d 
session — (97.) 

The  committee  reported,  that  the  embarrassment  of  the  city  was 
not  caused  by  the  imprudence  or  extravagance  of  the  inhabitants 
and  city  authorities  to  the  extent  anticipated,  and  that  the  views  by 
which  they  were  governed  were  of  a  liberal  and  public  spirited 
character.  That  neither  the  Government  nor  the  proprietors  con- 
templated that  the  whole  or  even  a  large  proportion  of  the  burden 
should  be  thrown  upon  the  inhabitants,  of  the  city.  That  the  Gov- 
ernment is  bound  by  every  principle  of  equal  right  and  justice,  to 
pay  a  proportion  of  the  expense  incurred  in  this  matter  equal  to 
the  amount  of  the  property  which  it  held,  and  which  was  to  be  in- 
creased in  value  and  benefitted  by  it,  and  this  would  have  been 
greatly  more  than  one-half.  That  it  was  anticipated,  at  the  date 
of  the  contract,  that  the  property  acquired  by  Government  would 
become  immensely  productive,  enabling  it  to  secure  a  perfect  ac- 
commodation for  itself,  and  "insure  a  considerable  surplus  to  the 
city  to  be  employed  in  its  improvement ;"  the  city  therefore  ought 
not  to  be  regarded  as  inexcusably  importunate  when  it  asks  for  their 
alleviation.  That  the  city  may  have  gone  further  in  this  matter 
than  the  necessities  or  convenience  of  the  Government  may  for  the 
time  being  have  required ;  but  the  expenditures  were  made  with 
the  generous  purpose  of  increasing  the  public  accommodation,  and 
rendering  the  capitol  of  the  country  what  it  ought  to  be,  as  well  to 
augment  the  property  held  by  individuals,  and  by  the  Government 
itself,  and  the  improvements  which  it  has  made  have  greatly  en- 
hanced both.  That  in  several  States  of  the  Union,  where  the  Gov- 
ernment holds  landed  estate,  it  has  paid  taxes  on  it,  whilst  in  the 
city  of  Washington  it  has  not.  That,  although  in  the  acts  of  in- 
corporation, which  gave  the  city  partial  control  and  regulation  over 
the  streets,  there  is  no  exemption  of  the  property  of  the  Govern- 


83 

ment  from  taxation,  thereby  leaving  it  to  be  inferred  that  Congress 
did  not  intend  that  it  should  be  exempted,  but  that  it  should  be 
equally  subject  to  those  burdens  necessary  for  the  common  benefit 
of  the  whole  ;  the  corporate  authorities,  with  prudence  and  pro- 
priety, abstained  from  levying  taxes  upon  it,  and  laid  the  whole 
weight  upon  that  part  of  the  property  which  belonged  to  individ- 
uals. That  the  only  appropriation  which  appears  to  have  been 
made  exclusively  for  the  city,  was  that  of  $100,000  for  the  canal 
which  unites  the  Potomac  and  Eastern  Branch  ;  and  yet  even  this 
was  a  concern  originally  belonging  to  the  Government,  which  it 
directed,  and  over  which  its  commissioners  had  control  both  as  to 
its  location  and  execution.  The  committee  united  in  a  recommenda- 
tion that  Congress  should  transfer  their  private  building  lots  to  the 
city,  making  thus  all  taxable  alike. 

The  report  concludes  with  this  impressive  language  :  "  In  the  in- 
'  vestigation  of  the  subject  committed  to  them,  and  of  the  relief 

*  proposed,  the  committee  have  been  unable  to  separate  the  inter- 

*  ests  of  the  District  from  the  interests  of  the  United  States.     They 

*  regard  it  as  the  child  of  the  Union — as  the  creation  of  the  Union 

*  for  its  own  purposes.    The  design  of  the  Constitution  and  its  foun- 
'  ders  was,  to  create  a  residence  for  the  Government  where  they 

*  should  have  absolute  and  unlimited  control.     In  accomplishing 
'  their  object,  the  Union  undertook  the  guardianship  of  the  District, 
1  deprived  its  inhabitants  of  the  right  of  self-government,   and  of 
£  the  elective  franchise,  and  made  them   dependent  upon  the  will 

*  of  the  Representatives  of  the  States,  to  whom  alone  they  can  look 
1  for  relief.     But  the  committee  do  not  propose,  in  the  present  in- 
<•  stance,  to  offer  to  the  Senate  a  project  for  the  relief  of  the  embar- 
'  rassments  by  which  this  city  is  now  afflicted,  which  will  call  upon 
1  the  Union  foi   the  expenditure  of  any  of  the  treasure  which  has 
<  been  drawn  from  the  p'ockets  of  its  citizens,  but  only  for  a  part  of 

*  the  funds  which  were  obtained  by  the  agreement  to  locate  the  sea^ 
1  of  Government  here,  and  which  are  not  necessary  to  replenish  the 

*  Treasury  of  a  nation,  rich,  free  from  debt,  and  competent  to  the 

*  most  abundant  provision  for  the  accommodation  of  its  public  au- 
1  thorities." 

If  the  facts  and  conclusions,  thus  succinctly  stated,  do  not  clear- 
ly establish  the  positions  that  the  people  of  this  District  have  a 
peculiar  and  strong  claim  upon  the  protection  and  liberality  of  the 


Government ;  that  so  far  but  a  very  small  modicum  of  the  notice 
and  aid  to  which  they  have  so  just  a  right  has  been  their  lot,  and 
great  injustice  done  by  accusing-  them  of  being  importunate  suitors 
and  mendicants,  then  human  language  must  be  weak  and  unintel- 
ligible, indeed,  and  I  have  read  and  construed  the  statistics  relating 
to  the  affairs  of  these  Ten  Miles  Square,  and  the  opinions  of  the 
committee  from  which  I  have  quoted,  with  a  mind  blinded  by  par- 
tiality and  prejudice.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  I  defy  any  per- 
son, at  all  open  to  reason  and  conviction,  or  free  from  prejudices, 
to  rise  from  the  perusal  of  such  information  as  has  been  accumu- 
lated on  the  subject,  without  being  struck  by  the  fact,  that  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  Union  has  had  unfair  play;  that  its  history  is,  with 
slight  exceptions,  but  the  narrative  of  unkind  and  unmerited  Con- 
gressional neglect,  or  positive  hostility  and  insult,  and  a  heavy  ba- 
lance is  yet  due  upon  account  between  it  and  the  public  authorities 
who  seem  to  be  so  careless  and  indifferent,  to  speak  most  charitably, 
in  a  matter  which  appeals  most  particularly  to  their  sympathies, 
consciences,  and  feelings.  Would  that  the  District  had  ever  such 
friends  as  Campbell,  of  South  Carolina,  Pratt,  of  New  York,  Bay- 
ard, of  Delaware,  Causin,  of  Maryland,  and  Chilton,  of  Virginia ! 
Then  would  the  public  be  spared  the  painful  spectacle  of  seeing  a 
suffering  community  trifled  with,  insulted,  and  rebuffed  by  selfish 
politicians,  when  they  ask  for  charters  for  their  banks,  improve- 
ments on  the  public  grounds  and  buildings,  repairs  for  their  dusty 
and  worn  out  streets  and  avenues,  and  appropriations  for  humane 
and  charitable  institutions.  Then  would  the  good  old  spirit  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Republic  be  once  more  evoked  to  bless  and  cheer 
us  in  our  disfranchised  and  helpless  condition;  and  the  city  which 
Washington  founded  and  so  dearly  loved  and  cherished — which  a 
Jefferson,  an  Adams,  a  Madison,  and  a  Monroe  so  watched  over 
and  cared  for — once  again  lift  its  bowed  head  from  the  melancholy 
attitude  of  a  mourner,  and  be  rewarded  for  years  of  trouble  and 
neglect  by  a  return  of  that  friendly  and  liberal  legislation  and 
Government  protection  to  which  it  has  been  so  long  a  stranger. 

Before  bringing  these  hasty  essays  to  a  close,  I  deem  it  my  duty, 
as  it  is  my  pleasure,  to  take  brief  notice  of  a  masterpiece  of  sculp- 
ture lately  elevated  to  its  position  on  the  eastern  portico  of  the 
Capitol.  In  the  execution  of  his  task,  Persico  has  succeeded  most 
triumphantly.  No  one  who  has  a  heart  to  feel>  a  taste  to  guide,  or 


a  head  to  judge,  can  gaze  upon  the  imposing  and  beautiful  statues 
of  Columbus  and  the  Indian  Girl,  without  emotions  of  admiration 
and  delight.  The  artist  has  conveyed  most  happily  in  stone  the 
attributes  o£  dignity,  enthusiasm,  firmness,  and  genius,  with  which 
we  associate  the  character  and  person  of  the  Great  Navigator. 
He  has  completed  the  poetical  and  historical  eloquence  of  the  group 
by  lending  to  the  face,  figure,  and  position  of  the  admiring,  shrink- 
ing, curious,  and  artless  inhabitant  of  the  newly  discovered  world, 
an  expression  in  lineament,  limb,  and  attitude,  which  cannot  be 
surpassed  in  felicity  and  beauty.  I  leave  to  others,  who  have  more 
time  and  space  than  myself,  to  venture  upon  a  detailed  criticism  of 
this  chef  d'ceuvre,  and  shall  be  content  for  the  present  with  con- 
gratulating the  country  that  we  possess  at  the  metropolis  of  the 
Union  sculpture  so  superior  and  beautiful  as  the  productions  of 
Persico  and  Greenough.  May  this  be  but  the  beginning  of  a  well 
sustained  and  directed  patronage  of  artists,  native  and  foreign,  on 
the  part  of  our  Government,  and  merit,  such  as  that  of  the  two 
distinguished  sculptors  alluded  to  particularly,  meet  with  flattering 
and  honorable  reward! 

Before  I  take  my  final  leave  of  the  public,  I  may  be  excused  for 
inserting  a  compliment  to  the  resident  inhabitants  of  the  metropo- 
lis, which  will,  I  trust,  fall  pleasantly  and  gratefully  on  the  ears  of 
those  in  honor  of  whom  it  was  penned,  and  make  them  ambitious 
of  ever  proving  themselves  worthy  of  the  flattering  tribute  of  the 
writer  :  "  It  may  be  fashionable,"  says  the  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Aurora,  "  nay,  it  may  be  excellent  republican  taste,  to 
i  jeer  and  deride  our  National  Capital, — a  city  consecrated  to  Liberty 
i  and  hallowed  by  the  name  of  '  the  Father  of  his  Country,' — but 

*  to  me  Washington  has  a  thousand  charms.     I  love  its  people.     It 

*  is  true  they  are  not  rich,  neither  are  they  numerous ;  but  they 

*  have  the  frank,  hospitable  character  of  their  noble  Maryland  and 

*  Virginia  ancestors  ;  and  though  at  times,  and  at  all  times,  the  vice 
'  and  pollution,  the  heartlessness  and  villany,  the  turpitude  and 
'  sycophancy  of  all  the  rest  of  the  Union,  pour  into  it  in  immeasu- 

*  rable  streams,  still,  in  despite  of  all  this,  the  native  and  resident  po- 
1  pulation  of  Washington,  on  the  score  of  public  and  private  mo- 
'  rals,  may  safely  challenge  competition  with  the  proudest  and 

*  most  lauded  cities  of  America  and  the  world." 

I  have  now  done,  and  if  perchance  these  lucubrations  produce 


86 

even  a  very  small  portion  of  the  effect  they  are  intended  to  bring 
about,  I  shall  be  most  delighted  and  well  rewarded  as  a  citizen  of 
the  District,  and  as  an  American  who  asks  and  wishes  for  naught 
that  is  not  a  national  blessing  and  advantage. 

Yours,  respectfully,  J.  C.  B. 

LITERARY    AND   SCIENTIFIC    CONVENTION    OF    THE   NATIONAL 
INSTTUTE. 

LETTER  XVII. 

WASHINGTON,  May  25,  1844. 

GENTLEMEN:  There  has  been  no  event,  in  my  opinion,  for  a  long 
time  past,  that  ought  to  be  deemed  more  interesting  and  important, 
by  the  scientific  and  intelligent  portions  of  the  community,  than 
the  late  Convention  of  the  National  Institute,  which  commenced 
its  sessions  in  this  city  on  Monday,  the  1st  of  April  of  the  present 
year. 

The  reunion  for  good  and  useful  purposes,  under  the  auspices, 
and  at  the  invitation  of  an  association  devoted  to  intellectual  pur- 
suits, of  those  of  our  fellow-citizens  who  direct  the  powers  of  their 
minds  to  the  improvement  of  their  species,  is  well  fitted  to  bring 
forth  fruit  of  the  best  and  most  useful  description.  That  a  large 
number  of  men  should  have  been  found  willing  to  leave  their  avo- 
cations and  families,  and  for  no  other  end  than  to  indulge  in  the 
communion  of  mind,  and  to  aim  at  something  for  the  benefit  of 
their  common  country,  should  have  journeyed  hither  from  great 
distances,  at  no  small  expense  and  sacrifice,  argues  well  for  their 
zeal  and  enthusiasm,  and  is  sufficient  proof  of  the  existence  amongst 
us  of  a  body  most  respectable  and  progressing,  as  to  size,  patriot- 
ism, and  attainments.  That  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
gave  satisfaction  to  the  community  who  honored  the  sessions  by 
a  regular  and  select  attendance,  and  afforded  proof  to  the  pub- 
lic that  the  addresses  and  papers  were  of  no  common  merit  and  in- 
terest, is  what  no  one  who  has  had  an  opportunity  of  judging  will 
presume  to  deny.  Honored  by  the  presence  of  many  of  the  first 
savans  and  intellectual  men  in  the  land — rendered  attractive  and 
instructive  by  the  selection  and  distribution  of  the  matters  then  dis- 
cussed— characterized  throughout  by  the  cordial  and  agreeable  inter- 
course of  the  guests  and  their  flattered  hosts,  it  is  no  idle  assertion  to 


87 

remark,  that  the  late  scientific  and  literary  meeting,  of  the  proceed- 
ings whereof  I  give  the  following  synopsis,  will  be  considered  an 
epoch  in  the  intellectual  history  of  this  country,  if  its  objects  be 
carried  out  by  a  publication  of  the  essays  here  enumerated,  and 
this  be  established  as  the  first  of  a  series  of  successful  and  well  ar- 
ranged annual  reunions,  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Insti- 
tute at  the  seat  of  Government. 

FIRST  DAY. 

The  first  session  of  the  literary  and  scientific  Convention  of  the 
National  Institute  took  place  at  Washington  city,  on  Monday,  the 
1st  April,  1844,  and  was  opened  by  a  short,  but  clear  and  interest- 
ing statement  of  the  objects  of  the  meeting,  by  his  excellency  John 
Tyler,  President  of  the  United  States,  followed  by  an  able  and  elo- 
quent address  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Walker,  "  on  the  progress,  improve- 
ments, and  present  condition  of  American  science  in  all  its  branch- 
es." The  exercises  were  closed  by  Professor  Draper,  of  New  York, 
by  a  paper  "  on  the  physical  constitution  of  the  rays  of  the  Sun,;> 
and  by  Professor  Loomis,  of  Ohio,  "on  the  late  comet." 

2d  DAY. — TUESDAY,  APRIL  2d. — Hon.  Levi  Woodbury  in  the 
chair.  Dr.  H.  Humphreys,  President  of  St.  John's  college,  Anna- 
polis, read  a  paper  "on  the  economy  of  science  in  relation  to  our 
Government."  Professor  Benjamin  Hallowell,  of  Alexandria,  D. 
C.,  "  on  the  liberation  of  caloric,  in  some  chemical  changes,  that 
are  attended  with  an  enlargement  of  bulk."  Lieut.  M.  F.  Maury, 
U.  S.  N.,  "on  the  Gulf  stream,  and  the  currents  of  the  ocean;" 
and  Professor  George  Tucker,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  "  on 
the  dangers  most  to  be  guarded  against  in  the  future  progress  of  the 
United  States." 

3d  DAY. — WEDNESDAY,  APRIL  3d — Morning  Session. — Dr.  Hum- 
phreys in  the  chair.  Professor  J.  G.  Morris,  of  Baltimore,  delivered 
an  essay  "on  the  past  and  present  state  of  entomology  in  the 
United  States;"  Professor  R.  M.  McCulloch,  late  of  Jefferson  col- 
lege, Pennsylvania,  a  paper  "  on  the  attraction  of  a  planet  upon  a 
material  point  in  space;"  William  B.  Hodgson,  of  Georgia,  "on 
the  Megatherioid  fossils  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Georgia ;"  Profes- 
sor Morris  read  a  paper  written  by  Professor  E.  Foreman,  of  Balti- 
more, "  on  domestic  exchanges  in  Natural  History  and  Geology;" 
Captain  A.  Mordecai,  U.  S.  ordnance  corps,  closed  with  an  article 


88 

explanatory  "of  a  ballistic  pendulum,  constructed  at  the  Washing- 
ton arsenal  for  experiments  in  gunnery." 

4th  MEETING. — WEDNESDAY  EVENING. — Hon.  John  C.  Spencer, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  the  chair.  The  proceedings  were 
opened  by  an  essay  of  Professor  A.  D.  Bache,  superintendent  of  the 
United  States  coast  survey,  "on  the  history  of  science  in  Europe 
and  the  United  States;"  Professor  Jacobs,  of  Gettysburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, followed  with  a  paper  "on  the  Indian  Summer;"  Dr.  A.  D. 
Challoner,  of  Philadelphia,  with  one  "on  the  petrified  forest  near 
Cairo,  in  Egypt,  discovered  by  Linant,  chief  engineer  and  hydro- 
grapher  to  the  Pacha." 

5th  DAY. — 5th  MEETING,  THURSDAY,  APRIL  4th — Morning  Session. 
— Hon  R.  J.  Walker  in  the  chair.  Peter  A.  Browne  opened  exer- 
cises by  a  paper  "  on  improved  method  of  teaching  the  natural 
sciences;"  Professor  W.  W.  Mather,  of  Ohio,  "on  the  physical 
geography  of  the  United  States;"  Professor  C.  Gill,  of  Flushing, 
New  York,  concluded  the  proceedings  by  an  essay  "on  the  im- 
provement of  mathematical  science,  and  the  consequent  advance- 
ment of  the  natural  sciences." 

6th  MEETING. — THURSDAY — Evening  Session. — -Honorable  John 
C.  Spencer  in  the  chair.  Dr.  Nott,  President  of  Union  college, 
Schenectady,  New  York,  delivered  an  essay  "  on  the  origin,  dura- 
tion, and  end  of  the  world;"  Professor  J.  H.  Agnew,  of  New  York, 
"  on  the  Glacier  system,  or  period  of  Agassez." 

7th  MEETING. — FRIDAY  MORNING,  APRIL  5th. — The  Hon.  B.  F- 
Butler,  of  New  York,  in  the  chair.  Professor  Locke,  of  Cincinnati, 
commenced  this  day's  exercises  with  a  paper  "on  the  meteorology, 
magnetism,  topography,  scenery,  geology,  &c.,  of  Lake  Superior, 
and  its  vicinity  ;"^  Professor  W.  A.  Norton,  of  Newark,  Delaware, 
read  one  "on  the  Nebular  hypothesis;"  Captain  W.  H.  Swift,  U. 
S.  topographical  engineers,  "  a  description  of  the  base  line  of  Long 
Island,  measured  in  the  year  1843,  for  the  survey  of  the  coast  of 
the  United  States ;"  and  Dr.  Sewall,  of  Washington,  "  an  essay  on 
the  design  and  utility  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  National 
Institute." 

8th  MEETING. — SATURDAY,  APRIL  6th — Morning  Session. — Hon. 
JOSEPH  R.  INGERSOLL,  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  Chair. 

F.  J.  GRUND,  of  Philadelphia,  read  an  essay  "  on  the  modern 
historical  schools  of  France  and  Germany,  and  the  philosophy  of 


89 

the  United  States."  Professor  W.  R.  JOHNSON,  of  Philadelphia,  "  on 
the  scientific  character  and  researches  of  the  late  James  Smithson." 
Professor  BACHE  read  paper  written  by  the  Rev.  JAMES  CURLEY,  of 
Georgetown  College,  entitled  "  description  of  a  meridian  circle  for 
the  College  Observatory."  Dr.  W.  H.  VAN  BUREN,  U.  S.  A.,  "  on 
the  effects  of  Quinine  on  the  human  body,  as  a  remedial  agent.'* 
Dr.  J.  R.  W.  DUNBAR,  of  Baltimore,  finished  proceedings  "  on  the 
importance  of  Physiology  as  a  branch  of  general  education." 

9th  MEETING. — MONDAY,  8th  APRIL — Morning  Session. — The 
Hon.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  upon  taking  the  Chair,  delivered  a 
short  and  pertinent  address,  for  which  I  refer  my  readers  to  the 
National  Intelligencer  of  Tuesday,  April  9th. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary,  FRANCIS  MARKOE,  esq.,  announced 
the  names  of  the  delegates  appointed  by  the  societies  and  colleges 
of  the  United  States,  and  read  the  following  papers,  some  only  by 
their  titles,  and  others  in  full :  "  Letter  from  the  Hon.  Levi  Wood- 
bury,  highly  approving  the  purposes  of  the  National  Institute  ; 
from  Rev.  Dr.  Wayland,  of  Brown  University,  Providence,  sug- 
gesting the  communication  to  the  National  Institute  of  observa- 
tions on  the  atmosphere,  to  be  made  by  the  captains  of  packets 
and  other  vessels;  from  Dr.  Foreman,  of  Baltimore,  communicat- 
ing a  recommendation  that  Messrs.  Torrey  and  Gray,  authors  of  the 
Flora  Americana,  should  be  invited  to  prepare  for  the  next  annual 
meeting  of  the  Institute  a  summary  account  of  what  has  been  done 
in  this  country  in  the  promotion  of  botanical  knowledge,  with 
biographical  sketches,  &c.  Letters  from  Professor  Johnson,  of 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  Professor  Tutmiller,  of  Lagrange 
College,  Alabama,  containing  useful  suggestions;  and  from  George 
R.  Chase,  U.  S.  Top.  Engs.,  of  Pensacola,  on  "  method  of  settling 
the  orthography  and  orthoepy  of  the  English  language ;"  from 
Professor  G.  S.  Haldeman,  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  of  Philadel- 
phia, J<  on  the  necessity  of  a  National  Institution  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  science ;"  from  Francis  Lieber,  L.  L.  D.,  of  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  containing  "remarks  on  public  executions,  &c.;" 
from  Professor  James  Hamilton,  of  the  University  of  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, "  on  certain  meteorological  facts  observed  at  Nashville ;" 
and  from  the  Hon.  Richard  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  "on  the  Smith- 
sonian Bequest."  Professor  Espy  submitted  some  remarks  "  on  Me- 
teorology." Professor  Bache  read  a  communication  from  Dr.  Robert 
Hare,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  calling  for  observations 
12 


90 

on  the  late  storm,  and  a  paper  of  his  own  on  "  magnetic  and  me- 
teorological observations  made,  under  direction  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment, at  the  Observatory  of  Philadelphia."  He  then  laid  before 
the  meeting,  by  authority  of  the  Treasury  Department,  "proof  im- 
pressions of  five  sheets  of  the  map  of  New  York  bay  and  harbour, 
surveyed  under  the  superintendence  of  F.  R.  Hassler,  late  superin- 
tendent of  the  United  Stales  coast  survey,  and  forming  part  of  the 
survey  of  the  coast."  Francis  Markoe  then  read  a  paper  from  J. 
C.  Pickett,  U.  S.  Charge  d'Affaires  at  Lima,  giving  an  account  of 
some  remarkable  ruins  in  the  Provinces  of  Chachapoyas,  Peru. 
John  Tyler,  jr.,  delivered  an  essay  "in  support  of  the  theory  of  an 
electric  fluid,  by  an  explanation  of  the  phenomena  of  the  repulsion 
of  pith  balls  negatively  electrified." 

The  10th  and  last  meeting  took  place  on  Monday  evening,  8th 
April,  the  Hon.  J.  C.  SPENCER  in  the  Chair. 

Dr.  Patterson, -of  the  United  States  Mint,  Philadelphia,  delivered 
a  discourse  "  on  the  centre  of  population  of  the  United  States,"  and 
was  followed  by  the  Hon.  A.  H.  Everett,  "  on  the  moral  tendency 
of  the  science  and  learning  of  the  past  and  present  centuries." 

The  proceedings  of  the  First  Annual  Convention  of  the  National 
.Institute  were  then  closed  by  an  able  address  from  the  Chairman, 
the  Hon.  John  C.  Spencer. 

If  such  meetings  be  deemed  useful  and  interesting,  it  becomes, 
then,  the  duty  and  interest  of  the  learned  men  of  this  country  to 
support  and  encourage  the  National  Institute,  and  of  the  intelligent 
portion  of  the  community  to  give  it  countenance  and  assistance. 
For  upon  such  support  and  countenance  depends  the  contingency, 
whether  there  shall  ever  be  another  convention  of  the  kind,  and 
whether  the  Institute  will  be  enabled  to  carry  into  operation  its 
laudable  and  enterprizing  intentions.  We  say,  then,  to  those  who 
feel  a  direct  interest  in  such  matters,  that  the  resident  members  of 
the  Institute  hope,  if  Congress  give  a  favorable  hearing  to  the  me- 
morial now  before  them,  to  make  the  next  convention,  should  one 
be  held  here,  of  still  greater  attraction  and  importance.  1  trust, 
then,  that,  for  one,  I  shall  again  have  the  pleasure  of  attending, 
before  a  twelve-month  goes  by,  another  meeting  of  the  kind,  and 
of  seeing  a  still  greater  number  of  learned  delegates  gathered  in 
our  city  in  communion  so  delightful  and  instructive. 

Yours,  respectfully,  J.  C.  B. 

[Letters  14, 15,  16,  and  17,  were  not  published  in  the  Intelligencer.] 


